Library Links

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

5.4.12

SLJ Teen Spring Book Buzz - Webinar

The 2012 Spring season's crop of great teen reads
(Free registration required to view.)

"Freshen up your shelves with the new season's crop of great teen reads! This webcast features title presentations from Beyond Words, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

This Teen Book Buzz Spring 2012 one hour webcast includes titles for teen readers, from fans of paranormal and romance to aspiring artists and writers."

================

SimpleBooklet - online publishing made easy

eBook Publishing in a variety of sizes

(You will need an email address to create an account.)
Finished product can be embedded on a variety of platforms.

It's so simple to create a simplebooklet. Start with a blank slate or choose a template.  Click add and begin adding, editing, resizing, coloring, rotating, and layering anything you want.  From text and images, to widgets, videos, code, forms, and a host of professional gallery elements. Your simplebooklet will be ready in minutes.

=========

Script Frenzy Young Writers Program

Let your imagination take over

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants attempt the creatively daring feat of writing an entire script in the month of April. For 30 days, you get to let your imagination take over and create the film, TV show, play, or graphic novel of your dreams!

That means participants begin writing April 1 and must finish by midnight, April 30. The script goal for our adult program is 100 pages, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual page-count goals.

==============

At What Speed do you read?

Test your reading speed

Read a short timed excerpt, answer three questions and see how your results compare with the rest of the world!

==============

4.4.12

iconlogic blog: Images for projects

AJ George's Recommended Free Image Sites

"There are many great resources for stock photos and images. I'm going to focus on those that are free and do not appear to have many use restrictions."

============

Science360 - The Knowledge Network - Videos

Video Series for STEM content

Science360 Knowledge Network immerses visitors in the latest wonders of science, engineering, technology and math. We gather the latest science videos provided by scientists, colleges and universities, science and engineering centers, the National Science Foundation and more. Each video is embeddable to put on your own personal websites, blogs and social networking pages. Science360 engages the general public, science junkies and students alike in the cutting-edge discoveries and big science .

=============

If he was really a cat....

Dr Seuss - The Cat in the Hat, the Cat on the Book

Especially for teacher librarians and cat lovers everywhere.

"Hilary Price has been drawing and writing Rhymes With Orange, her daily newspaper comic strip, since 1995. It has twice won "Best Newspaper Panel" by the National Cartoonists Society and appears in 175 papers. Her work has also appeared in Parade Magazine, The Funny Times, People and Glamour."

============

Kitzu - Find, Learn, Create

KitZu by the Orange County Department of Education

(The quality of contents is somewhat uneven - take a look at specific kits before assigning to students. )

KitZu,--> a collection of free, educational, copyright-friendly media resources. Students and teachers around the world can access pre-made collections, or "kits," of various digital assets - still images, background music, narratives, video and text. Each kit is built around a common theme, or curricular topic.

For students, this becomes the construction paper of the 21st century --allowing them to create reports and projects filled with rich, immersive media for communicating their vision of whatever subjects they chose.

These digital kits are meant to provide students with the building blocks necessary to build video and multimedia projects that tell a story and demonstrate learning. A kit can be made up of:

  • - Photos
  • - Illustrations
  • - Animations
  • - Video Clips
  • - Audio Clips
  • - Document
==============

Photo Pin : Free Photos for Your Blog or Website via Creative Commons

"Free to Use" Photos

"PhotoPin helps bloggers find photos for their blog and makes adding them to their post fast and easy. Just search for any topic using the search box (ex: passion, puppies, etc.), preview the photo, and click "get photo" to download the photo as well as the proper attribution link. If you prefer to pay for the photo rather than linking to it, the results at the top will take you to a partner stock photo site where you can buy the photo."

==========

The Story of "Keep Calm and Carry On" | quietube

An iconic image for the 21st century

"A short film that tells the story behind the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster. Its origins at the beginning of WWII and its rediscovery in a bookshop in England in 2000, becoming one of the iconic images of the 21st century. Film, music, script and narration by Temujin Doran."

============

"YouTube Education" - YouTube EDU

Get more into learning

"YouTube EDU brings learners and educators together in a global video classroom. On YouTube EDU, you have access to a broad set of educational videos that range from academic lectures to inspirational speeches and everything in between.

Come here for quick lessons from top teachers around the world, course lectures from top-tier universities, or inspiring videos to spark your imagination."

==================

How to Become a Search Ninja - ZDNet

Take the TRUE power of Google into your own hands

A somewhat "technical" but quite thorough overview of Google's "power searching" commands. (From ZDNet)

=============

TeacherTopia video resources for teachers

Videos for teaching

Here are some links to a variety of video resources for teaching. Click on the buttons to search a particular site, or use the search window to search them all. (From the same folks who brought you Infotopia.info)

============

3.4.12

Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom - videos, articles

Video inservice and resources from Rick Wormeli

You will also find on this site links to:
  • Study Guides
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Q&As
  • Testimonials
Rick Wormeli is a National Board Certified Teacher and a columnist for Middle Ground magazine. The winner of Disney's American Teacher Award for English in 1996, Rick is an internationally known speaker on middle-level education, innovation, and teacher professionalism.

Link to previews of his books:
[LINK here]

===============

Stenhouse Publishers: National Poetry Month Page

Resources for National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and Stenhouse has collected some great resources for teachers to bring poetry into the classroom.

Download a free poetry sampler from Stenhouse: a collection of poetry lessons and classroom ideas in one handy e-book. Visit the site to find links to other poetry titles to preview online.

==============

Google’s Art Project Expands.

Now With More than 30,000 Hi-Res Images From 151 Museums
Gary D. Price (InfoDocket article)

Quick Facts About the Project Expansion:
  • Now, 30,000+ Hi-Res Images (from 151 Museums in 40 Countries)
  • Plus, "Street View" Imagery for 46 Museums -"walk through" usability
  • 46 Artworks Using Gigapixel Technology - get up close, really close!
"New Features from the Art Project:
  • Using completely new tools, called Explore and Discover, you can find artworks by period, artist or type of artwork, displaying works from different museums around the world.
  • Street View images are now displayed in finer quality. A specially designed Street View "trolley" took 360-degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of more than 385 rooms within the museums. You can also explore the gallery interiors directly from within Street View in Google Maps.
  • An enhanced My Gallery feature lets you select any of the 30,000 artworks—along with your favorite details—to build your own personalized gallery. You can add comments to each painting and share the whole collection with friends and family. (It's an ideal tool for students.)"

Link to GoogleArtProject.

Using the Site (video demo)

===============

"Rethinking Schools Magazine" Online

A Magazine with a vision for public education

"Rethinking Schools began as a local effort to address problems such as basal readers, standardized testing, and textbook-dominated curriculum. Since its founding, it has grown into a nationally prominent publisher of educational materials, with subscribers in all 50 states, all 10 Canadian provinces, and many other countries. It remains firmly committed to equity and to the vision that public education is central to the creation of a humane, caring, multiracial democracy."

================

Birth of a Book (Vimeo Clip)

Using a traditional printing method

"A short video vignette of a book being printed and assembled using traditional printing methods. (For the Daily Telegraph.) Shot at Smith-Settle Printers, Leeds, England. The book being printed is Suzanne St Albans' 'Mango and Mimosa' published as part of the Slightly Foxed series.  (Shot, Directed & Edited by Glen Milner.)"

============

Revamping the Secondary English reading list?

Themes for Secondary Novel study...

"What would be the key relevant literary themes for today's students?* "

  • Impact of technology on everyday life  (from the internet, devices, social media)
  • Invasion of privacy, consequences for private life
  • Encroachement of government & conflict with individualism
  • Conflict between corporate culture and society/ the environment/ traditions
  • The consequences of a widening gap between rich and poor
  • Political corruption
  • Survival in difficult situations / being self-reliant
  • Separation/roles/values/conflict of church and state, the place of faith
  • Effects of war/conflict/terrorism, and being a soldier/insurgent/freedom fighter/terrorist
  • Impact of changing demographics on our society and culture (ethnicity, age, gender, etc.)
  • Social and cultural impact/challenges of single parenting
Now the challenge is to find contemporary relevant titles (published in say last 10 years) that address these in an engaging, stimulating way. This would make a great discussion topic for high school students, and English departments!

(*Adapted from suggestions by Robert L. Hicks made on LM-Net
Arkansas City High School Library)

==================

2.4.12

Old Book Covers as T-shirt Designs "Out of Print Clothing"

Just For the Fun of It!

"Out of Print celebrates the world's great stories through fashion. Our products feature iconic and often out of print book covers. Some are classics, some are just curious enough to make great t-shirts, but all are striking works of art.

We work closely with artists, authors and publishers to license the content that ends up in our collections. Each product is treated to feel soft and worn like a well-read book. (For each product sold, one book is donated to a community in need through our partner Books For Africa.)"

===========

An anthropological introduction to YouTube

A presentation by Michael Wesch

An anthropological introduction to YouTube is a 40-minute YouTube video of a presentation by Michael Wesch of Kansas State University. The presentation, given at the Library of Congress in 2008, provides an overview of two years of research on the famous platform. On his Digital Ethnography website, he writes, "Our work explores how humans use media, how media uses us, and how we can use new media to reveal our insights in new ways."


===========

Chemistry of Color: Flowers

"The Chemistry of Flower Color"

"Roses are red; violets are...well, violet — but why? "The Chemistry of Flower Color" explains how pigment molecules — carotenoids and anthocyanins — give flowers the colors we see. Also in this collection: news stories from the archives of NBC News and Scientific American on desert wild flowers, pollination, the cut-flower industry, and why flowers have scents; color plates of several floral families; and a flowery offering from Robert Louis Stevenson."

Video, transcript, image files.

See other Chemistry related stories at:

===============

Motion Mountain - The Free Physics Textbook for Download

Motion Mountain Physics Textbook

Enjoy this free ebook in six colour pdf files on physics, the science of motion.
Explore the motion of rain drops, muscles, animals, lightning, stars, light and empty space itself! Be fascinated by the beauty of nature and the concepts of modern physics.

Also available as as a single zip file: download all 6 pdf volumes of the free Motion Mountain Physics Textbook (edition 25, new and expanded, of spring 2012), in full colour, with embedded films and animations, in English. Attention, large file: 180 MB.

====================

Light and Matter: open-source physics textbooks

Open Source Physics Books available

  • Light and Matter -- physics for students majoring in the life sciences
  • Simple Nature -- physics for scientists and engineers, with a nontraditional order of topics
  • Mechanics -- introductory mechanics for scientists and engineers, with a traditional order of topics
  • Conceptual Physics
  • Calculus
  • General Relativity
Extras
  • instructor's materials
  • answer checker
==========

Saving The Titanic - PBS.org

Dramatic interpretation of the Titanic's final hours

"Follow a dramatic interpretation of the Titanic's final hours, told from the point of view of the engineers below deck as they struggle to maintain power and keep the ship afloat to save as many lives as possible."

============

Hunger Games Trivial Pursuit (and lesson ideas)

Are your students excited about the Hunger Games novel? Have they seen the movie yet? If you want to capitalize on it, think about downloading some of the images, posters and lesson ideas available online.  Also, www.QuizWik.com (free to join) has a number of quizzes on popular novels that some schools are using as part of their Accelerated Reader program, but they also make great starters for a trivial pursuit style activity. How about a question a day on the bulletin board? or a lunch-time challenge? Prizes anyone?

============

1.4.12

Fotopedia - high quality images by subject

Fotopedia: the first collaborative photo encyclopedia.

"The website interface does a beautiful job at showcasing high quality images around subject matter or interest. We find Fotopedia to be a great way to explore and share images online"

===============

Image and video files for use in projects

Looking for Useable Project Images?

These sites offer images for use in student assignments. Most are licensed under a Creative Commons attribution use, meaning that the student can use the image, but needs to give credit for the photo.

Images:
Video Footage
==============
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)