A School Librarian's Finds!

CELEBRATE THIS WEEK!

2014-04-06T04:21:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. However, this morning after reading a tweet by one of my favorite school librarians from MA, Jennifer Reed (@libraryreeder), I decided to join the "Celebrate This Week" movement.

Yesterday, our state association of school librarians (CASL) partnered with CLC and Scholastic Library Publishing in order to offer an un-conference event for our members. SHARE 2 LEARN resulted in a day of generously sharing expertise as well as challenges faced in the day to day struggles of being a school librarian. Bill Derry from The Westport Library, kicked off our day with an awe-inspiring presentation on MAKERSPACES. He set the stage for our event in such a way, I knew we were in for a successful day of "making" our PD sessions work for our own unique needs.

To follow some of the discussions, search our hashtags: #ctcasl or #ctcasl14.

More Free Apps

2013-08-09T06:36:00.002-07:00

FREE APPS TODAY

After scanning my twitter feed, listserves,

and various blogs,

I am highlighting the following apps or ebooks.

One of my students' all-time favorite characters is Scaredy Squirrel. I must admit, he is one of my favorites as well! If you are not aware of Melanie Watts, take a look at her work. This week, iTunes offered Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach for FREE. It's not too late. Download it today on your iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and computer! Normally $5.99. Thanks to @marianslibrary & @classicsixbooks for their tweet.

KID IN STORY BOOK MAKER

Kid in Story Book Maker makes it easy and fun to create visual stories to support learning, social modeling, and early literacy with your child as the star character. FREE today (usually $6.99). Download today. Thanks to @mattBgomez for his twitter announcement.

Grammar Wonderland-Primary

Click here to download.

Bug's Math Quest

Click here to download.

Maybe it could be used for a class calendar!

Click to download for free.

FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Remember you can download the free kindle app on your devices. You can download Kindle books to iPhones, select Blackberrys, Droids, iPads, Macs, and PCs. Thanks to TCEA for their research on free books.

Download free today.

What gaps do you need filling in your ebook or app inventory? Leave a comment and I will do my best to fill your gaps.

Give Students the Freedom To Be Creative

2013-07-29T16:31:00.002-07:00

Do you wonder how to revitalize your class?

Do your students seem disengaged and lack creativity?

We need to change.

After reading DRIVE by Daniel Pink, I am more convinced than ever, that we need to break down the time restraints we have in our public schools. Students (all ages) need time to wonder, explore, play, create, and share.

Creativity is like a muscle--it needs exercise to build and strengthen. If you have not read DRIVE, read it this summer.

Take a look at this video about Creativity.

Get inspired by Kelvin who learns by making!

What other books do you recommend?

Are you exploring Maker Spaces or Genius Hour?

Any twitter chats you are participating in on these topics?

Share in the comment section any resources or thoughts you have regarding fostering creative classrooms.

"BE THE UNEXPECTED" TEACHER FOR YOUR STUDENTS THIS YEAR!

2013-07-22T15:51:00.002-07:00

Inspiration...

I am a recent twitter convert. I signed up for an account probably a year or more ago and really did not use it. A couple of weeks ago, I attended my first ever edcamp #edcamprsd6 and requested a session on the effective use of twitter for educators. I am a believer in its power for growing your PLN.

Today, I received a tweet that had a link to this video. Well worth watching and learning from this Ignite speech by Jeremy McDonald.

What is your"do the unexpected" story?
Share it in the comment section.

Free Apps Today

2013-07-20T07:06:00.005-07:00

This is the list I sent to our preschool -2 grade teachers today.

Gem from ISTE

2013-07-20T06:04:00.003-07:00

I attended my first ISTE conference a few weeks ago. It is a bit overwhelming the first time. So many attendees, and I was traveling alone so I had to navigate on my own. The gem I discovered was TCEA. The Texas Computer Educators Association. Incredible resource.

The following ebook is written by one of their members. He is addressing what I spoke about in a previous post--about choosing apps that can be mashed into other apps.

Message from Miguel Guhlin
http://mguhlin.org

" For fun, I decided to create a short free ebook (e.g. ePub, iBook) that summarizes some of the main points of app smashing workshop and blends in an example of digital poetry as I once taught it.
Get a copy of The Definitive App Smasher's Guide...

ePub version (best viewed on an iPad in iBooks since it includes audio/video)
PDF version (ok, this one has the pictures but not the audio/video, so...)

Have fun and drop a note in the comments!!"

NOTE: If you do download Miguel's book, do drop him a note. We are so blessed to be in a profession in which people share their knowledge so generously.
Jane

Discovery Education's Summer Institute

2013-07-16T19:44:00.001-07:00

Last summer I attended the Discovery Education Summer Institute. This year, I am following it online.

Here are some the best resources shared at DENSI 2013.

Visit the DENSI 2013 site, to view archives of the live streaming for the keynote workshops.

Digital Authentic Assessments compiled by Katie Searcy

Mashups with Traci (one of DEN's best)

Quick and Easy QR Code Generator

Paper Slide Videos- all ages can create them

Examples of Student Paper Slide Videos

Open Source Clip Art

Your Students Can Create Infographics

Math/Tech Educator shares her tips

DE CCSS Tool page

Twitter for beginners

Oustanding Free Images

Free Animoto Teacher Acct

Successful CCSS Implementation

Appoholic App List

Face Talker app--better than blabberize

CCSS Math Tools

CCSS ELA SHIFTS

CCSS Leadership resources

CCSS Resources

Karen Beerer's DENSI lecture

2013-07-16T18:10:00.001-07:00

Not just for consuming information.

The greatest power of the iPad, I believe, is the ability to create. So, I am always on the lookout for apps that allow students to create. I want to make sure the app has multiple ways to share your creation. I esp. like apps that allow you to create something and import it into your camera roll or provides you with a link.

For instance, one of the best book creation apps is called: BookCreator. It costs $4.99 but is worth every cent. While creating an ebook using this app, you can embed video and images from your camera roll, you can hyperlink text and images to url's. You can narrate your pages. When sharing these ebooks, you can email them and open them in ibooks on any iPad or iPhone. If you need to share them with non-ipad or non-iPhone users, then you can send them a pdf- of course, you lose the audio.

Use any of these apps to create images or movie clips to add to your ebook when using bookcreator.

Skitch-free

PicCollage- free

Voice Photo - free

What is one of your favorite creation apps and how do you mash apps together to create awesome products?

2013-07-16T18:06:00.002-07:00

School's Out for the Summer!!!

Well, so they think. This is the time of year, when the teachers study. This year I am offering the teachers in my school an opportunity to participate in PD through Edmodo. This way they will learn how to use this great platform and learn a bunch of new tech tools at the same time.

One of the sites that I will encourage teachers to utilize as part of their PLN is edtechteacher.org.

A wealth of information can be obtained through this website and the best part is if you miss any of their live webinars, you can view the archives and not miss out on gaining new skills.

Visit this page for the listing of archived webinars.

What is one of your favorite PD connections?

How do you grow your PLN?

TOO LOUD?

2013-07-16T18:03:00.002-07:00

Teaching in a k-2 school, there are times when the volume in my library gets a little noisy. A FREE app may solve this issue!

This app may be just what I need on those occasions. I found this treasure on the Blog written by occupational therapist, Beth Lloyd from the Hosmer School.

Check out: TooLoud! app - hook up to smart board for visual for students so they can manage their noise levels themselves.

The TooLoud! app is ideal for the teacher who needs to limit noise in the classroom environment. It records decibels, displaying the volume levels in numbers. Use it to let the class know when they cross the auditory line. Hook your iPad up to the projector and manage the working noise level in class by letting the students see the feedback for themselves. The data is also visualized in a live graph and in a sliding bar that indicates the rising levels of clamor and babble. Watch out for the red zone...time to bring the level down!

What strategies, tools, or apps do you use to monitor/control noise level?

Math Game perfect for indoor recess!

2013-07-16T17:53:00.002-07:00

This is a great idea! I found it on the site called "Aussie Pumpkin Patch"

: Learning CAN be fun!

Check out the full description of how to play. Perfect for a math center, indoor recess, or end of the year fun and games!

What is your favorite math game for students?

Your favorite math app?

Photo fun!

2013-07-16T17:50:00.006-07:00

DISCLAIMER: Parents and educators must always visit these sites with children. Free sites that are open to the public are not meant for children to explore independently due to the possibility of inappropriate content.

Teachers and parents can create an adventure for their students with a digital camera and a few free applications.

We love to take photos but then all these images tend to just stay stored on a memory card.
With Image Chef, you can EASILY enhance your photos by uploading your photos on the website and selecting various frames to place your picture “in”. Some of the frames include a television, milk carton, most wanted poster, billboard, and many more. You can then insert these pictures into PowerPoint, Photo Story, or Movie Maker.

TECHS IDEAS:
First Grade Animal Reports: Have the student select a copyright free image of the animal they are researching and then utilize Image Chef to alter or enhance the image in an innovative way. Include the modified image in the final report or presentation!
SECOND GRADE BIOGRAPHY REPORTS: Locate an image of your subject and have your parents take your photo. Utilize Image chef to create a new image of you with your research subject! Include this image in your presentation or final report.

LUNAPIC: Free photo editing application. Pretty cool. Take an image and place it on the $100 bill!

TECH INTEGRATION:
For your biography report, convince your audience why your subject has earned the right to be placed on our currency!
For your country report, superimpose your image visiting a famous landmark in your chosen country.

ANIMOTO: Create a video in five minutes – no kidding! Using this award winning site, educators and students can create videos that contain photos, graphics, music, text and more! It is only limited by your imagination.
Accumulate class photos over the course of the school year and use ANIMOTO to create a super end-of-the-year slide show that will be unforgettable.

TECH integration: In music class, explore the types of music that you can select to accompany your images to create the mood you want your slideshow to set for your audience. Or compose original music!

Do amazing things with your photos. Take an ordinary photo and add interesting effects.
Visit BEFUNKY.

What is your favorite photo tool/app?

Share how you use it with students.