Library Links

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


14.2.13

BrainPop and BrainPopJr - Anti-bullying resources

BrainPop has some free videos/activities:

Aimed at younger students

Middle School or Junior High

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NOVA Online/Pyramids—The Inside Story

How the pyramids of Egypt were built

(Detailed images and 360 panoramas. Looks great on a Smartboard or big screen. Much of the content is Flash, and so iPad users will have to launch Puffin or Rover browsers.)

Follow a team as they reconstruct how the pyramids of Egypt were built on NOVA's "This Old Pyramid."  Wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were built. You can also follow the 1997 field season of a team of archaeologists as they excavated the bakery that fed the pyramid builders.

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Dotto Tech - Google Tips

Steve Dotto gives Google pointers

If you don't know about "Dotto Tech", you are missing out. Steve has a monthly newsletter you can subscribe to, a Twitter feed you can follow, podcasts you can listen to and even a Facebook page you can "like". He offers many great tech tips for beginners and more experienced users too. I also like his "Dotto Demos", short video screencasts that explain a whole range of applications. See below for his Google series.


Managing Multiple Google Accounts
Gmail has several new features, including allowing huge attachments 
How to use Google Drive, Forms - A suprisingly useful tool!

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Greater Victoria Public Library - K booklist

GVPL's 100 Picture Books to Read Before Kindergarten

"Greater Victoria Public Library's Children and Family Literacy Librarians have selected a list of one hundred exceptional picture books which will entertain, educate and inspire young children again and again.

Here's a great brochure to give to parents (PDF)
Here's a poster to print and display (PDF)

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13.2.13

6 Useful Apps to Create Short Movie

Jazz up your Videos!

The "Ed Tech and Mobile Learning" blog features 6 great video apps for your iPad (or iPhone). Storyboarding, time-lapse, tilt-shift (where real life looks like scale models), slow-mo, and custom effects: all are easy to apply with the right app. Take a look.

Apps mentioned:
1- Storyboards Premium
2- Time Lapse Camera
3- Tiltshift Video
4- Slowmo  
5- Movie Looks HD
6- Old Video Pro

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Comic Master - create your own comics

Make a graphic novel

"Comic Master" is a web-based app that lets students create comics in the "graphic novel style". (Note: Uses Flash - not for iPads) CM uses a drag & drop menu which allows students to choose layouts, backgrounds, characters, effects, and fonts. (There is a preset number of these on the menu) Students can create a free account (email address needed) to save their creation and edit them later. Students can also make and print multiple page stories. (Some additional lessons found here: http://www.readmeresources.co.uk/ )

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Resources for World Book Day

A whole range of resources!

Check out this UK site for book ideas, summaries and video trailers.

"To help make World Book Day special – and to encourage reading for the rest of the year too – we've got a whole range of resources: lesson plans, activity sheets, and more. You can explore all of it here, just make sure to sign up for more! Just click on the age range that is relevant to you."

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Snapguide for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

A new way to do step-by-step guides

You can take pics, add instructions, even insert videos. A great way to present a lab, demonstrate a skill or explain a concept.

"Snapguide is a simple, beautiful way to share and view step-by-step how to guides. Discover new things to cook, build, wear, play and more. Create your own guides and share what you love making with your friends. View existing guides here: http://snapguide.com/ "


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Thinking and Learning: Word Collage app for iPhone/iPad

iPad App for Word Collages

Wordle-like app for the iPad.

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Planning Summarization Activities

Body sculptures summarize learning.

"Summarization is one of the most effective teaching strategies, but if it isn't part of your classroom instruction, you're not alone. If you're underusing summarization techniques—maybe because your experience with them has been, well, underwhelming—keep reading...."

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12.2.13

Google Forms to promote TL/Teacher Collaboration

Signing up your teachers with a Google Form

Create a google form like this one that will allow your teachers to share what they plan to do when they visit your library. This kind of form can be easily adapted to your own use. (NOTE: Don't submit on the WJHS form. Instead, visit templates here or here and make your own.) Data is collected into a spreadsheet inside of your Google Docs account. Even if your teachers are reluctant to fill it out, you can use it yourself!

(You can also use this idea to create a "follow-up" form: [LINK] )

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Literacy strategies to explore

Some sites related to reading strategies

Reading Rockets
Classroom strategies to help build and strengthen literacy skills in print awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.

Balanced Literacy Diet (hosted by OISE)

A Pinterest Board on Reading Strategies

Flipbook of reading strategies (doc download)

ReadWriteThink.org

Neuroscience & the Classroom

A self-paced course - How the Brain & Learning works

Text & videos

Introduction: The Art and Science of Teaching
1. Different Brains
2. The Unity of Emotion, Thinking, and Learning
3. Seeing Others from the Self
4. Different Learners, Different Minds
5. Building New Neural Networks
6. Implications for Schools
Conclusion: A Community of Educators
(Entire course text)

"Insights drawn from neuroscience not only provide educators with a scientific basis for understanding some of the best practices in teaching, but also offer a new lens through which to look at the problems teachers grapple with every day. By gaining insights into how the brain works—and how students actually learn—teachers will be able to create their own solutions to the classroom challenges they face and improve their practice.

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Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs

Quality classroom-based SEL programs

"Based on more than a year of extensive research and analysis, the CASEL Guide identifies 23 school-based programs that successfully promote students' self-control, relationship building, and problem solving, among other social and emotional skills.  The Guide will help in your planning and selection of strong, evidence-based programs that serve your students' needs. It will also help you reflect on and augment your efforts.

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Webinar: If You Build it they Will Come

How I Inspired My "Technology Reluctant" Teachers
Presented by:  Raylee Fleisch , Library Media Technology Specialist at Belcher Elementary School in Pinellas County, FL

(The webinar may take a couple of moments to load. Currently, while there is a  "Blackboard"  ipad app, it only works for live presentations, not archived ones.  - Blackboard Mobile app.)

The PALM Center of Florida State University invites you to a series of free webinars hosted by its Project Leadership in Action Participants. Media specialists in Florida who participated in the Project LEAD program while they were students at FSU will present the webinars where they will discuss the results of their own action research projects in the school library involving technology integration practice.

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MediaSmarts - Ed Games

Introduce kids to key ideas in media and digital literacy

While many of these games are Flash based and won't work in Safari on an iPad, they can be projected and played using a laptop and Smartboard (or run within the Puffin browser on iPad - note: speed may suffer.)

"Educational computer games that introduce kids to key ideas in media and digital literacy. These games are a great way to start a conversation on media issues in the home or classroom, and you can play most of them right here on our website."


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Geocaching and GPS apps

Using smartphones for Geocaching

"Whether the Geocaching purists like it or not, smartphones are being used more and more for Geocaching. In fact, it seems to be a common set up in this day and age to have a smartphone for urban caching/cache database with a dedicated GPS unit in your caching bag for those 'deep in the outdoors' trips. So it's important that you have a geocaching app on your smartphone that does the job well."

iPhone apps

Andoid apps

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Announcing the 2013 Tournament of Books

TMN's ninth annual Tournament of Books (ToB)

Want to follow another great book contest? Check out "The Morning News" and their annual ToB.

"The ToB is an annual springtime event here at the Morning News, where 16 of the year's best works of fiction enter a March Madness-style battle royale. Today we're announcing the judges and final books for the 2013 competition as well as the long list of books from which the contenders were selected.

The Morning News (TMN) is an online magazine of essays, art, humor, and culture published weekdays since 1999.

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Kids' Summer Reading Club 2013

Up, Up and Away! - SRC2013

The BCLA is already thinking about summer! At this point, only the poster link is active. More to come.

"The BCLA is pleased to announce the theme for the 2013 Kids' Summer Reading Club, with supporting materials which will include reading record; stickers; poster; bookmarks; completion medals; children's website with literacy game; as well as novelty items and a librarian's programme manual. Sponsored by the British Columbia Library Association and your local public library."

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