A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet

Are You the Proper Candidate for a Chromebook?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:29:00 +0000

This week I am "test driving" an HP Chromebook. This particular model feels sturdier than the Samsung laptop, and I'm glad that our technology team is looking at the HP models to purchase for September. Chromebooks are perfect for schools, because they don't allow any software installs or Internet downloads. (No viruses is a good thing, right?) The Chrome browser works seamlessly in the cloud, connecting with G mail accounts and Google Drive. There is no need for Microsoft Office, because Google Apps offers the creation of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, quizzes and more. BUT...if you are like me and use software outside the Internet, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver, the Chromebook will not be for you. Watch the videos below to help you decide:

30 iPad Tips and Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:19:00 +0000

APP GROUPS
Create app groups that consolidate up to 20 apps into one convenient group. (Works just like a folder) Tap and hold an app. Once you see the icons start jiggling, move the app on top of another app. Name your group whatever you would like and place up to 20 apps within it.

BOOKMARK FAVORITE WEBSITES TO THE HOME PAGEWhile on the Internet, (using Safari) load up your favorite websites. Tap on the box with an arrow in it, alongside the URL Bar. Select “Add to Home Screen” and give each site a short name so it doesn’t abbreviate itself.

CAPS LOCK
Double tap the shift key for caps lock. Tap once to turn it off.

CHANGE NOTES FONT
The default in notes looks like comic sans, which I detest. Go to Notes in Settings and choose from three fonts.

CREATE A TOUGHER PASSWORD
The default is a four-number passcode, but you can turn it off. Go to Settings > General > Passcode Lock > Simple Passcode. Use any full keyboard password to lock your iPad.

DELETE SECTIONS OR SENTENCES
Delete a whole sentence or section. Shake your iPad! If you're in a text editing app, simply shake your iPad and the short menu pictured above will appear. The first time you do it, it will only give you two options. If, however, you've already deleted something, then you can undo the deletion with another shake.

ENABLE THE EMOJI KEYBOARD
Launch Settings > tap General > International >; Keyboards. Tap Add New Keyboard and find Emoji. Now open an app where you can type some text. Tap the globe icon to switch between your regular keyboard and the Emoji one. For real fun, type in a bunch of Emoji symbols, select them all, and then tap the Speak button. You’ll hear the often-entertaining names of each symbol read in sequence.

ENTERING WEBSITE URLS QUICKLY
Use the iPad's ".com" key when typing in a URL. Also: hold down the .com key you get access to a menu that offers more options.

FIND DEFINITIONS
Tap and hold to select the word and tap “Define”.

FIND TEXT ON A WEB PAGE

Type your word into the Google search box. Near the bottom of your choices you'll see "On This Page", which shows how many times that word appears on the page. Tap the Find option to see the first instance of the word.

FORCE-CLOSING APPS
Exit to your home screen. Bring up your multi task tray by double-clicking the home button or swiping up with four fingers, then long-press on any application you see in the tray. They will all start wiggling and you'll see red circles with hyphens on them. Now, all you do is find the problematic app and tap on the red circle that's on it. Simply tap on the app again to restart it.

GET RID OF NOTIFICATIONS
Pull them down with your finger and push them back up to quickly get rid of them

HIDDEN APOSTROPHE
Hold down the comma key to reveal a hidden apostrophe.

iPAD READS SELECTED TEXT
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility. Go to Speak Selection, and tap to turn it on. Then, go to the app where you have highlighted text. You have many options to choose from. Select some text, and choose from the contextual menu (you may have to tap the right arrow to view more options). Tap the Speak command, and your ipad will start reading the text aloud.

ORIENTATION LOCK
Settings > General > Use Side Switch to: Lock Orientation.

PICTURE FRAME
Tap the flower icon on the lock screen!

QUICKLY TYPE NUMBERS
Hold your finger on the numbers button and drag to the dollar sign. Let go and you’ll be right back on the regular keyboard.

READ WEBSITES MORE EASILY Tap the Reader button, (URL bar at the top of a Web page) and you'll see a predominantly text version of the page. Ads are no longer visible. It doesn't work with all websites.

SAVE BATTERY TIME BY CLOSING UNUSED APPS
Press the home key two times to see the open apps. The apps will appear in the bottom tray, referred to as the multitasking tray. To close an app, press one finger on the app until it starts to wiggle. Press the ( –) button on the upper left corner to close the app if you are not using it. Press the home key when you are finished.

SET MUSIC EQ
Music settings > PICK EQ style

SHOW CAMERA GRID
Turn on the Grid to line things up. Open up Camera > Options and toggle the Grid – it’s not available for self-portraits.

SPEECH DICTATION
Tap the microphone icon and speak, tap it again when you’re finished for your words to be converted to text

SPLIT YOUR KEYBOARD
Type with thumbs only. When the keyboard comes up, touch both sides of it with your thumbs, then swipe out towards the edges of your iPad with each thumb. The keyboard will stay like that for as long as you would like it to. If you'd like to make it one singular keyboard again, simply touch your thumbs on each side of the split keyboard, then swipe your thumbs toward each other. You can use any two fingers. Spreading your fingers splits the keyboard and pinching them brings the keyboard back together.

STREET VIEW
Open Maps, drop a pin (or search for a location) and tap on the red person icon to the left of the address.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT
Press and hold the on/off button on the upper right-hand side of the iPad, then press the home button OR hold the home button and then press the on/off button. The screen will go white and, you will hear a sound like a shutter release on a camera.

TAP TO SCROLL UPTap once on the status bar (where the time and battery life are displayed) and you'll jump up to the top. This works for websites, email, Contacts and many other apps.

TRIPLE CLICKING
Tap the Settings app > General > Accessibility > Triple-click Home > select from that list what you would like the home button to do when you quickly click it three times in a row!

USING THE MULTI-TASK TRAY
Double-click your home button or swipe up with 4 fingers. After the tray loads, swipe to the right within it. Adjust brightness and volume, and access music or videos playing in the background.

ZOOM
Turn on Zoom and double-tap the screen with three fingers. You can then move around by dragging with three fingers.

Here's What You Missed at Edcamp Philly...

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:04:00 +0000

That's me sharing w/other campers.

Saturday, May 18 was partly cloudy and cool in Philadelphia, PA, but inside the Wharton School of Business at UPenn it was a sunny and awesome day. The third annual Edcamp got underway at 10 AM with session one and ended close to 4 PM with a smackdown. Having left New Jersey at 6:45 AM with my two colleagues from work, we were ready for a day of learning, sharing and discussing all topics related to technology and education. Each and every session on the schedule had a corresponding Google Doc, where everyone could contribute their ideas, comments and notes. There were two morning sessions and two in the afternoon, followed by everyone meeting in the auditorium for a smackdown, where we shared cool apps and sites with each other. I presented a session on Google Apps and Drive which grew a decent crowd and lots of great questions. There was also a premiere of the first Flocabulary Edcamp Rap.

The Edcamp movement began three years ago and has become known all over the world. Here's a list of the upcoming Edcamps. Maybe I'll see you at the next one.......

Wow! 40 Retro Library Posters!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:33:00 +0000

I am always looking for cool signage for the library media center. Recently I came across some awesome retro posters (*of course I used Photoshop on some them..) after searching on Google images. Thought that you would enjoy looking at them, or maybe even use them.

Hundreds of Things to Do With Old Books

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:00 +0000

When you are in the midst of weeding hundreds of books, the task of what to do with them is always in the back of your mind. Are they torn apart and placed in the recycle bin? Do you donate them to the local public library? Can you have your own book sale to raise a few dollars for the school media center? Well, not all the books you are getting rid of could be considered up-to-date and I'm sure you wouldn't want a student using that information for a paper. So....as opposed to trashing some of them, here's a list of resources which have some great ideas how to reuse those old books.

9 Cool Things to Do With Old Books into Something Cool

10 Creative Ways to Recycle Old Ways

15 Creative DIY Projects Featuring Old Recycled Books

20 Awesome Ways to Reuse Old Books

20 Ways to Decorate with Book Pages

50+ Ways to Repurpose Old Books

80 Awesome Ideas for All Your Old or Unwanted Books

Art From Old Books

Creative Ways to Recycle Old Books

How to Reuse Old Books for Homemade Gifts

New Life For Old Books- wonderful, creative Pinterest board with great ideas

Stylish Projects From Vintage Books- from Better Homes and Gardens

Ways to Reuse an Old Book- from the Huff Post Green

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Are YOU a Comic Sans Criminal?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:21:00 +0000

Although I am a media specialist, I think about design every time I work on a worksheet, form or sign. I am a right-brained woman. Every time I receive an email or see a sign with comic sans as the font, I'm sorry to say that I cringe. Here is a great site which explains the only times you should be using the comic sans font. It is appropriately called Comic San Criminal.

Do You Use Google Chrome Books? If So, Please Give Us Your Feedback...

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

10 Tech Shortcuts from David Pogue

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:08:00 +0000

17 Awesome Google Chrome Extensions

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:34:00 +0000

This was a good year at my school. We finally got Google Chrome added on the machines in the library lab, so students would be able to start using Google Drive with their documents. YES. The best part is that students and faculty/staff can add extensions to the browser without any permission. All they need to do is go to the Chrome Store and click what they would like to add. I've tried out many myself and recommend the following:

AdBlock- blocks all ads, including Facebook etc.

Announcify- reads aloud any webpage for you

Awesome Screenshot- allows you to capture the screen image and annotate

EasyBib Tools- provides students with instant citing of a webpage

Evernote Clearly- makes blog posts and articles clean and easy to read

Evernote Web Clipper- allows you to clip a web page or portions of a webpage to your Evernote account

Note Anywhere- add notes to any webpage; they will be there the next time you go to that URL

Quickrr- all in this one extension:

* Translator
* Dictionary
* Calculator
* Tasks To-Do
* Notepad
* Calendar
* World Clock
* Unit Converter
* Currency Converter
* Stopwatch & Timer
* Search Tools

Read and Write for Google Docs- assists students with disabilities, ESL students; provides talking
dictionary, picture dictionary, vocabulary tool.

RemindMe- set reminders for yourself

Save to Google Drive- "This extension allow you to save web content directly to Google Drive through a browser action or context menu. You can save links to documents, images, and HTML5 audio and video all by right clicking and selecting 'Save to Google Drive'."

Session Buddy- "View and save the state of all open browser tabs in the current or past browser sessions."

Shorten Me- shortens really long URLs

Simple Highlighter- highlights, annotates and translates

Snippy- take snippets of webpages, then upload to Google Drive

Study Stack- FlashCards, Crosswords, Hangman and other activities to make memorization fun.

Task Timer- keep track and stay on task

Coping With Tragedies

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:50:00 +0000

With news of the recent Boston bombings, I wanted to remind you that I had posted resources on coping with tragedies back in December after the Sandy Hook massacre.

Click here.

How Do You Motivate Teachers to Use Technology?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

It is great time to be alive. Technology is constantly changing the way we do things, making it easier than ever to stay organized. I have always embraced change, but there are many teachers who are still resistant. It's hard to sell technology without one key ingredient: reliable Internet access. Without the necessary bandwidth, any talk of a 1:1 initiative is impossible. At my school, we have been promised an upgrade this summer, but I'm still wondering how to push that motivation into overdrive in September. I found several resources online and hope you will share your own stories in the comments section.

11 Reasons Teachers Are Not Using Technology- post by John Spencer

Encouraging Teacher Technology Use- from Education World

A Few Ways to Motivate Teachers to Use Tech- from Larry Ferlazzo

How Can We Motivate Our Teachers to Use Technology?- EdTech Chic's posting includes links to technology newsletters.

If Technology Motivates Students, Let's Use It- from Edutopia
Technology Incentives: Motivating Teachers to Attend Professional Development Training

Understanding Tech-Savvy Teachers: Identifying Their Characteristics, Motivation and Challenges- 20 page PDF file

18 Fun Resources to Help Kids With Vocabulary

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Brainy Pics- upload a picture and write a sentence; use any of the pictures already uploaded to explain the meaning of a word

BubbaBrain- interactive vocabulary practice for elementary, middle, high school and college levels

Flashcard Stash- registered teachers create vocab flashcards and can share with their students

Free Rice- each correct answer generates a donation of 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme.

Graph Words- online visual thesaurus

Knoword- helps boost vocabulary and spelling

Learning Chocolate- vocabulary learning platform includes a huge array of interactive lessons

Learning Vocabulary Fun-vocabulary games, English vocabulary word games, including Slang Game, Hang Mouse and Letter Games

MyVocabulary.com- root word lesson plans, puzzles, word lists and SAT/ACT test prep

PBS Kids Vocabulary Games- from Radio Martha to the Great Word Quest, a nice listing here

Professor Word- add the bookmarklet to Chrome, Firefox, IE or Safari and when reading a webpage; SAT and ACT words will be identified; can also give the definition to any words on the page which are not understood

Spelling City- teachers can save vocab lists, learning activities and games

VocabAhead- SAT and ACT vocabulary building

VocabGrabber- "VocabGrabber analyzes any text you're interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context."

VocabSushi- " VocabSushi provides thousands of sentences that demonstrate any vocab word's contemporary usage in news articles."

Vocabulary Worksheets- from the Lesson Corner

Vocabulary Worksheets and Printables- filter by grade level

Wordia- includes videos of students and teachers explaining the meanings of certain words, many games

Website Evaluation: Internet Detective and 11 Other Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:28:00 +0000

Launched in 2006, Internet Detective is a very cool site which was written for college-level students. After viewing the site, I feel that high school seniors and advanced juniors would also gain a lot of insight from using it. Looking for more resources on evaluating websites? Try some of the ones below:

Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources

Credible Sources Count- view a 10-minute tutorial about how to find sites you can trust. EXCELLENT!

Critical Evaluation of Information- Kathy Schrock's guide by grade level; covers elementary through secondary

EasyBib Website Evaluation-

Evaluating Websites- from Indiana University Libraries

Finding Reliable Information Online- slide presentation from middle school teacher Sean Hinger

The Five Ws of Website Evaluation

Media Awareness Network- "who, what when where" explained so you can understand it

Museum of Hoaxes- bogus web sites from A to Z

University of Berkeley Library- an excellent tutorial on finding information on the Internet

What to Consider When Evaluating Websites

First Browser for Autistic Children: Zac Browser

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 01:12:00 +0000

Zackary Villeneuve's grandparents created Zac Browser so that he could interact with his computer in a calm way. It is the first browser created for kids with autism. Download to PC or Mac, and your child can access games, activities and videos in a safe environment. Here's a short video tutorial about Zac Browser:

Have You Heard of Summly? A Teen Just Sold it to Yahoo!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:45:00 +0000

Until today, I had never heard of Summly, yet it was one of the best iPhone apps for 2012. The app streams information you are interested in with a simple interface in no more than 400 characters. Created by Nick D’Aloisio when he was only 15, it was acquired today by Yahoo! in what is being described as a multi million dollar deal. With so much information out there, it's nice to be able to receive your own personalized edition, right? Take a look at what Summly has to offer and within the next year let's see what Yahoo! does with it.

Google Keep: Can it Replace Evernote?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:15:00 +0000

In an effort to compete with the popular Evernote, Google recently unveiled Google Keep, an Android app which allows you to bookmark sites, make notes, record memos, add graphics and color-code notes for sorting. The Android app syncs with your Google Drive account. The first thing I thought of when I read about this was, could this really be used instead of Evernote? After all, my iPhone has always had notes. I could make a list of things there. My calendar alerts me to events. Without an Apple app, Google Keep can be used only by Android users. Strike one. But rather than make the decision for you, I will present information about both Google Keep and Evernote, with a few reviews I found online. One thing I will say is that I LOVE Evernote, so if Google wants to compete, they will have to up their game. What do you think?

6 Reasons Google Keep Can't Replace Evernote- GIZMODO

Google Keep Challenges Evernote for Top Android Note Taking App- GottaBeMobile

Google Keep: Worth Trying With Caution- TIME article

Google Keep, an Overdue Answer to Evernote, Arrives- Wired

Hands on with Google Keep: Can it Slay Evernote?- PC World

20 Magazines & Journals for Teacher-Librarians

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:41:00 +0000

I still enjoy the feel of pages in books and magazines. Reading on my tablet is easier than the computer screen, but that physical copy of a magazine or journal is my personal preference. How many of the following do you have subscriptions with? Many also have digital versions online which won't cost you a dime. NOTE: You can also find this list under the Teacher-Librarians tab at the top.

American Libraries- ALA publication; read online for free

Booklist Magazine- $147.50 (22 issues in a year); website is here.

Bookwire- "search and discover over 20 million book titles, including print, e-books, audio books and more."

College and Research Libraries News - print subscriptions and digital online archives

Computers in Libraries- $99.95 (10 issues per year); also digital online archives

D-Lib Magazine- digital library research published 6 times per year

EDTECH: Focus on K-12- online digital version or print copy

eSchool News- free print subscription for educators

The Horn Book Magazine- $49.00 (6 issues)

Internet @Schools- $49.95 (5 issues per year)

The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults

Kirkus Book Reviews- tough book critics

Library Journal- $101.95 (20 issues per year)

Library Media Connection Magazine- $49.00 (special deal for 6 issues)

Library Sparks- $59.95 (9 issues)

School Library Journal- $88.99 (12 issues plus access to Book Verdict School Library Journal)

School Library Monthly- $55.00 (8 issues)

Teacher-Librarian- $56.00 (published 5 times per year)

Tech and Learning- free subscriptions for educators

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) -online digital version

Mouse Party Looks Inside the Brains of Mice

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:44:00 +0000

If you teach Psychology or Science, this site will amaze your students. Produced by the University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center, Mouse Party is an interactive lesson which shows the effects of drugs on mice. Here's how it works: students choose one of seven mice to be analyzed and then zoom in on the brain to see how it is affected by the particular drug the mouse is on. The visual presentation is simple and easy to understand. There is also a link on this page for Meth Mouse, a 3D presentation requiring download and installation of Unity Web Player. Here's an overview of Mouse Party:

Make Your Own Shelf Markers!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:23:00 +0000

If you have ever purchased shelf markers from one of the popular library vendors, you will agree that they are expensive and easily breakable. Did you ever think that making them yourself (or letting the kids make them) would save lots of money? Take a look below and see if your library could use its own set of shelf markers. I have also included a video and PPT you can show young students.

Handy Library Sticks

Shelf Markers and Duct Tape- looks like a chocolate bar!

Shelf Markers From Paint Stirrers- love this idea!

Using Shelf Markers- PowerPoint for elementary school students

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Teaching Tolerance to Our Students

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:44:00 +0000

I first heard about The Southern Poverty Law Center from my aunt. She told me all the things they were doing to rid the world of hate and injustice. Civil rights lawyers Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. founded SPLC in 1971 and the organization is known globally for "tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups." SPLC's project, Teaching Tolerance, offers free magazine subscriptions to teachers, as well as free film kits, which include DVDs (and accompanying teacher's guide) about bullying, the Holocaust, the March in Birmingham and Cesar Chavez. Under their section on classroom resources, Teaching Tolerance has a nice listing of lesson plans for all ages.With free publications to download, Teaching Tolerance is a website that is a wonderful resource for the classroom.

Feedly Can Easily Replace Google Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:36:00 +0000

When I learned yesterday about Google Reader closing in July, I looked into alternatives. As a visual learner, I have to say I love Feedly.. Switching was a snap, as I imported all my RSS feeds into Feedly with a few clicks. There is a mobile app for Android and iPhone and Kindle, and they have a blog, which currently has instructions for your migration. Here is a sample screenshot of what you will see when you log into your new account:

LEGOs in the Classroom? You Bet!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:47:00 +0000

There was a time when LEGOs were only used for playtime. But there are so many things beyond play, including lessons for math, science, engineering and technology. (STEM) Here are 16 websites with great information on using LEGOs in the classroom.

20 Ways Teachers are Using Legos in the Classroom- a nice post from Edudemic

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy- guide to assist teachers in starting a robotics program

How Do You Store Your LEGOs?- see how other teachers keep their LEGOs in the classroom

How to Use LEGOs to Teach Pre-K To Third Grade- from eHow

LEGO Block Center- lesson plan about homes and community helpers

LEGO City Comic Builder- students can create comics using Lego elements

LEGO Education- lesson ideas form PreK through College; homeschooling included

LEGO and Education: Make a Lapbook- page also has other projects

LEGO Engineering- supporting STEM

LEGO Lesson Plans for Math and Science

LEGO Space- activities

Mathematics and LEGOs: Math Teaching Activities- PDF covers grades 1-10

Pre-LEGO Activities-presentations for middle school from Texas Tech University

STEMRobotics 101- class from Portland State has lessons which can be used in middle and high school

Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts- from Scholastic

Have Your Students Tried Visual Note-Taking?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:37:00 +0000

I am a very visual person, which is why I love using infographics in the classroom. Did you ever notice how your students take notes in your class? Here's a great video which discusses the art of visual note-taking. Thanks to Joyce Valenza for sharing on Twitter.

9 Free Programs Your Students Should Be Using Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:19:00 +0000

Audacity

Multilingual audio editor and recorder for many operating systems. Record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together, change the speed or pitch of a recording and much more.

Cam Scanner for iPhone
Cam Scanner for Android
Students can scan through their smartphone! If they need a copy of a handout, worksheet, or need to email homework, they simply scan and email. (File can be pdf or jpeg)

EasyBib (also app for iPhones and Androids)
Free bibliography maker offers ALA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian formats; cite from 59 different sources. Download MLA 7 Guide, MLA Parenthetical Citations Guide, and much more, including online research guide assistance, step by step.

Evernote (also app for iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Androids,)
One of my personal favorites, Evernote allows you to collect web snippets, pages, images photos etc. all on their server and syncs with your computer, smartphone or iPad. The web clipper extension in Chrome allows you to take all or part of a site. The computer version (download Evernote at home) adds the function of voice memos. Evernote Trunk offers many apps which directly work with Evernote.

Google Drive
Everyone should have a Gmail account. No other email offers as much as Google does, and here's why: Google Drive allows you to upload files and folders, create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings and download them in many different formats. If the teacher asks for a PDF file, Google can convert the file. Need a file in MS Word format? DOCX is available. Your students can collaborate on projects even if they are not in the same location. Doing a survey? Google Forms will present results through a Gmail account. Totally awesome, period.

Jing
Jing allows you to take screenshots or record screencasts. (up to 5 minutes) Not bad for short videos, right? (The pro version costs $9.95/month.)

Pixton
Students can create their own comic strips using the click and drag method.

Skitch (use with Evernote) Android app, iPhone app
"Annotate images with arrows, shapes, text, and more. Use Skitch to sketch something new, mark up maps, screen captures, or even a photo. Then save or share your Skitch annotation to help others see and understand your ideas."

Zamzar
Students can convert files without downloading any software. Zamzar currently supports a huge number, including documents, images, music, video, e-Book and compressed files.

Perfect Gifts for Teacher-Librarians (Or Things You Would Buy for Yourself)

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Greller) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 23:11:00 +0000

100 Gifts for the Bookworm- unique and some are over the top ideas

2010 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide-

2011 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide- humorous gits

2012 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide- humorous gifts

ALA Store- books, posters, clothing, gifts, incentives, downloadable art files

ALikelyStory- "literary jewelry and bookmarks for the bookish"

Demco Gifts

Gifts for Bookworms: 10 Clever Ideas for Readers and Writers

Gifts for Bookworms Who Live for Lazy Weekend Reads

Just Dewey It- necklaces, t-shirts, bookmarks, posters

Nerd Tote- carry all your books

Swiss Army Librarian- library holiday gift guide

Ten Awesome Gifts for Librarians- from Library Journal

Unique Personalized Gifts for Librarians- includes gifts for volunteers and retirees

NOTE: This list has been added to the Teacher-Librarians page.