Mr. Miller's Library Blog

Great website for having students work in groups

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:40:00 +0000

www.thinkbinder.com

Double Booking

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:28:00 +0000

Just to clarify with everyone, teachers CAN be double booked in the library as long as they are not trying to use the Macs at the same time or trying to receive instruction from me at the same time. I hope this further increases access to the library for teachers and students. If you would like to make an appointment, please email, call, or see me if you wish to make an appointment at the same time as another teacher. Thanks.

Steve Miller

Pretty cool free online essay grader

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:58:00 +0000

I came across a website http://www.paperrater.com. It's a little like the Vantage computerized essay grading program that was popular several years back in LAUSD. While I normally abhor the idea of computers grading essays (though studies have found that it's becoming much more accurate), I see no reason why students can't use it to help edit and revise their own papers. While I wouldn't use it as a tool for summative assessment, anything that will help students during the writing process is OK in my book.

Really cool app

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Having now worked at five schools, one of the biggest challenges that I see is with communication. An email blast is fine, but what happens when people don't always check their email or only check it once a day. What happens with messages that are much more immediate? Well, let me introduce you to Celly. Celly allows for group texting. Let's say that a teacher wants to send all students a message concerning homework or wants to do a group poll. Now they can just text everyone. It's easy and it's immediate. Many students are already texting. Why not use that to your advantage. Celly isn't just for students. It allows you to give parents updates about your class or governance councils. It allows principals or other staff leaders to send messages to an entire faculty. It allows club or ASB sponsors to send messages to all its members.

It's very easy to create a group or "cell". Interested members can join by sending a text. You can join or leave a group if you so choose. Owners of "cells" can set the cell to be public or private and if they want cell members to respond or simply as a one-way alert system.

Whether I'm able to stay in the library or not, I plan on using this right now and in the classroom. If you are interested in joining my cell then text @cclalibrary to 23559 (celly). I encourage all teachers and administrators to use this really cool tool.

Ten Megatrends Impacting Learning (Repost)

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:24:00 +0000

I came across a real interesting blog post:

In a world where libraries are completely reinventing themselves, where universities and schools are moving away from labs to BYOD, and where the focus of everything seems to be on mobiles —what will be the role of technology in the next decade? What do leading institutions need to be doing now to prepare? What are the strategies that will provide them the most flexibility? The greatest competitive advantage?

These are the overarching questions that recently drove the discussions at 10th anniversary New Media Consortium Horizon Project special convocation and retreat. Over its decade of work, the Horizon Project has grown to the point that it may very well be producing the single most important body of research into emerging technology within the world of education. With more than one million downloads and 27 translations in the past ten years, the NMC Horizon Report series provides the higher education, K-12, and museum communities across the globe a key strategic technology planning tool that is continuously refreshed and updated.

The NMC and the Horizon Project are best known for its flagship Horizon Reports that focus on higher education and K-12 globally. Now, with 10 years of research that has helped us understand the nature and range of impact of emerging technolgies, the 100 thoughtleaders involved in the retreat have moved from reflections and metalearnings from the last decade, to notions of renewal and transformation, to ultimately metatrends and action.

Out of the discussion, 28 metatrends were identified. Of these, the ten most significant are
listed here and will be the focus of the upcoming NMC Horizon Project 10th Anniversary Report:

1. The world of work is increasingly global and increasingly collaborative. As more and more companies move to the global marketplace, it is common for work teams to span continents and time zones. Not only are teams geographically diverse, they are also culturally diverse.
2. People expect to work, learn, socialize, and play whenever and wherever they want to. Increasingly, people own more than one device, using a computer, smartphone, tablet, and ereader. People now expect a seamless experience across all their devices.
3. The Internet is becoming a global mobile network — and already is at its edges.
Mobithinking reports there are now more than 6 billion active cell phone accounts. 1.2 billion have mobile broadband as well, and 85% of new devices can access the mobile web.
4. The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based and delivered over utility networks, facilitating the rapid growth of online videos and rich media. Our current expectation is that the network has almost infinite capacity and is nearly free of cost. One hour of video footage is uploaded every second to YouTube; over 250 million photos are sent to Facebook every day.
5. Openness — concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions of transparency and easy access to data and information — is moving from a trend to a value for much of the world. As authoritative sources lose their importance, there is need for more curation and other forms of validation to generate meaning in information and media.
6. Legal notions of ownership and privacy lag behind the practices common in society. In an age where so much of our information, records, and digital content are in the cloud, and often clouds in other legal jurisdictions, the very concept of ownership is blurry.
7. Real challenges of access, efficiency, and scale are redefining what we mean by quality and success. Access to learning in any form is a challenge in too many parts of the world, and efficiency in learning systems and institutions is increasingly an expectation of governments — but the need for solutions that scale often trumps them both. Innovations in these areas are increasingly coming from unexpected parts of the world, including India, China, and central Africa.
8. The Internet is constantly challenging us to rethink learning and education, while refining our notion of literacy. Institutions must consider the unique value that each adds to a world in which information is everywhere. In such a world, sense-making and the ability to assess the credibility of information and media are paramount.
9. There is a rise in informal learning as individual needs are redefining schools, universities, and training. Traditional authority is increasingly being challenged, not only politically and socially, but also in academia — and worldwide. As a result, credibility, validity, and control are all notions that are no longer givens when so much learning takes place outside school systems.
10. Business models across the education ecosystem are changing. Libraries are deeply reimagining their missions; colleges and universities are struggling to reduce costs across the board. The educational ecosystem is shifting, and nowhere more so than in the world of publishing, where efforts to reimagine the book are having profound success, with implications that will touch every aspect of the learning enterprise.

O'Connell, Judy. "Ten Meta-trends Impacting Learning." Hey Jude: Learning in an Online World. 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. <http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/ten-meta-trends-impacting-learning/>.

New Video Resource

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:54:00 +0000

Ok, I realize that the DVDs that are on order are taking FOREVER to come in. I called and left a message with the Coordinating Field Librarian that is helping me with the order. I'm still waiting to hear back. In the meantime, LAUSD has introduced a new video resource that appears to be extremely helpful, NBC Learn. This is a new partnership between LAUSD and NBC News. Below is a video that explains it. There's some really, really cool features to it. And, it's not blocked like with YouTube (LAUSD has added this new Education Filter).

http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=48061

Please let me know if this link doesn't work. I'm not sure if you have to be logged in or not. I would be willing to conduct a PD on it as well. Again, just let me know.

Steve Miller

What is SOPA and PIPA? Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:15:00 +0000

I've already posted information about SOPA, but since Wikipedia, Mozilla (Firefox) and other Internet companies are boycotting today, I thought you guys should know about them. Click on the link below for article regarding these two important pending legislations:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html

Neat Project for English Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:24:00 +0000

Here's a neat project for students to do after reading a longer text and it incorporates technology into the curriculum. Have them create a series of Twitter tweets detailing events from the plot. For authenticity, have them create a real Twitter account and use a hashtag that has your name and other identifying information in it. Here's an example of one for Hamlet:

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

@OedipusGothplex

My royal father gone and nobody seems to care.

Mom says to stop wearing black.

STOP TRYING TO CONTROL ME. I won't conform! I wish my skin would just … melt.

I'm too sad to notice that Ophelia's so sexy and fine. And mother also looks rather fair despite all her struggles.

AN APPARITION! This sh*t just got HEAVY. Apparently people don't accidentally fall on bottles of poison.

Why is Claudius telling me what to do again? YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD! In fact you killed my real dad. :(

2bornt2b? Can one tweet beyond the mortal coil?

I wrote a play. I hope everyone comes tonight! 7pm! Tickets are free w/ great sense of irony.

Uncle just confessed to Dad's murder.

I had a knife to that fat a**hole but bitched out. Now he's alive and still taking to bed with that beautiful wo— … er, my mother.

Gonna try to talk some sense into Mom because boyfriend totally killed Dad. I sense this is the moment of truth, the moment of candour and –

WTF IS POLONIUS DOING BEHIND THE CURTAIN?

I just killed my girlfriend's dad. Does this mean I can't hit that?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are here, up to their shenanigans. YAWN.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Anyone miss them? Didn't think so.

The gravedigger's comic speech isn't funny at all. It's heavy and meaningful. Just send me YouTube vids instead, pls. I am so borrredddd.

Ophelia just pulled a Virginia Woolf. Funeral is on the morrow.

Laertes is unhappy that I killed his father and sister. What a drama queen! Oh well, fight this evening.

Anybody want a drink? Uh-oh. That went poorly.

@PeopleofDenmark: Don't worry. Fortinbras will take care of thee. Peace.

Free Computerized Detention Tracking

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Check this out:

I found a way to automate the tracking of detentions using Google Docs. There's a website that explains it.

http://www.detentionator.com/

It's free and seems relatively easy to install.

Here's the video tutorial that's on the website

http://youtu.be/x0XLVI1sHvM

Bully Video

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

If you haven't had a chance to watch this powerful viral video, please do so. This is something I would totally do in an advisory class...maybe leading to a class discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg

Teach with Rap and Pop Culture

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:38:00 +0000

Here's a great tool that helps teach concepts using rap and pop culture.

http://www.flocabulary.com

Be warned, though. After the free 15-day trial, you'll have to pay $5-7 a month.

Augmented Reality

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:05:00 +0000

This is something that is so cool. I just imagine it'll be the next big thing. Augmented Reality. Why explain, when I can let YouTube do it for me.

http://youtu.be/D-A1l4Jn6EY (CommonCraft tutorial)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9mIDQSc9qQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97_XdOLxxNY

Library Environment & Public Librarian Visit

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:33:00 +0000

If any of you have student work that is particularly impressive and you want to showcase it in the library, I'd love to display it. This'll also allow you to move the old stuff out to hang up new student work.

Also, Jose Galvan, the Young Adult Librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library Pacoima Branch would like to come and speak to classes for about 15-20 min each. I was thinking about English classes, but If you anyone is interested then shoot me an email or call me. Thanks.

Steve Miller, Teacher Librarian

Library Leadership Team meeting

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder that the Library Leadership Team meeting is today at 3:15pm in the library. I hope to see everyone there.

Emails and Library Blog Subscriptions

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Marc McPhee (TPA) pointed out that he hasn't been getting many of my emails for quite some time now. It's making me think that many others haven't as well. If I have not been including you, I do apologize. I think I may have been using an older distribution list. In any case, I'm going to put all of my past emails up on my library blog. If you are interested, you can subscribe to them via RSS feed.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/MrMillersLibraryBlog

if you go to my Library website <http://www.mistermilleronline.com> and click on "Subscribe to the Library Blog" you can get to it that way as well.

Reserving the Library

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I decided to change one small thing when teachers reserve the library. From now on, I won't be sending an email confirmation when your reservation is accepted. To check to see if you have been approved, just look at the calendar on the library website <http://www.mistermilleronline.com> and check if your name has been added. I will, however, still email teachers when there's a problem with their reservation request.

Library Availability and Library Leadership Team

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

It's come to my attention that library availability has been an issue with both faculty and students. Please let your students know that they may now use the library while I am giving a lesson to a class with the conditions that they must act accordingly (e.g. speak in a low voice, refrain from interrupting the lesson, etc.). Have students who are not on lunch show their hall pass to my library practice students. They will still be unable to pay fines while I am giving a lesson but are welcome to check out books, check in books, renew books, use a computer, or peruse the shelves otherwise. Please feel free to discuss with me any issue related to the library. I welcome everyone's input. Speaking of which, I am going to hold the first library leadership team meeting next week on Monday from 3:15pm-4pm. I invite everyone to attend. Thanks again.

Library Hours

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

With administrator approval, I am considering changing the library's hours to better accommodate schools that are open later in the day. Yet, I would like to get a feel for what everyone's preference is. Please fill out the survey by clicking the link below. There is literally only one question.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNPXzk2OUZHWHlTaTVOTHBzb1g3UHc6MQ

Interesting Video on Web Searches

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B8ofWFx525s

New YouTube Tool

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

If you have never used YouTube in the classroom or use it all the time, here's some exciting news. YouTube has introduced a new feature called "annotations". Now, users can add background information about the video, create stories with multiple possibilities (Choose-Your-Adventure), or link related YouTube videos all within the video itself. Here's a screen shot:

Here's an example of a very well-done Choose-Your-Adventure video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rJ1WML60Y&feature=player_embedded#!

To learn how to do it, click the link below:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=92710&topic=14354

Megalist of Primary Sources

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

American Memory: Historical Collections (Library of Congress)

A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times

Primary Documents in American History

American Historical Documents (Bartleby)

A Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents

Fold3.com - Historical military records

Repositories of Primary Sources

Calisphere: A World of Primary Sources

Milestone Documents · Your primary source for historic texts and analysis

EruoDocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe

Historical Texts Archive

EyeWitness to History: History through the eyes of those who lived it.

World History Archives

World History Facts and World History Timelines

Hanover Historical Texts Project

Primary Source Worksheets Truman Library

Historical Newspapers

JSTOR - The Scholarly Journal Archive

What are Primary Sources

For Teachers (Library of Congress) Teaching with Primary Resources

Using Primary Sources | Teachers Library of Congress

DocsTeach - National Archives

Teaching with Primary Sources - LiveBinder

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom (LOC)
Teaching with Primary Sources (Library of Congress)
The Primary Source Librarian
Library Research Finding Primary Sources
Primary Sources
Primary Sources on the Web
83 Places to Locate Primary Sources!
Library Research Using Primary Sources
C-SPAN Classroom | Free Primary Source Materials For Social Studies Teachers
Medieval Sourcebook:
Why Study History Through Primary Sources
Primary Sources Research ( Yale University Library)
Primary and Secondary Documents (Vermilion Parish)
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
History Matters
World History Matters
Making of America
National Archives Experience

National Archives Education's F ind Primary Sources Bookmarks

Infographic about Google Searching by HackCollege

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Here's a really informative infographic about searching Google more thoroughly. You'll have to allow your computer and/or mobile phone to display all images. Of specific importance is teaching students these advanced search operators. I can do a lesson for your classes on how to do an advanced Google search.

http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html

What is SOPA?

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

What is SOPA and how does it affect you? SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act that is currently working it's way through Congress. Sounds appealing, right? Well, not so fast. SOPA, if passed, puts power in the hands of the entertainment industry to censor sites that allegedly "engage in, enable or facilitate" copyright infringement. These sites could include YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. What it doesn't do is block individual IP addresses. Every computer has a unique IP address (almost like a street address of a house). If you happen to know the IP address of website's computer, then you can still access the pirated content. So, in essence, the bill does nothing but censor websites yet still allow online piracy. Censorship is a touch subject for librarians, especially cybrarians (tech-savvy librarians) like me. What can you do to stop this bill. Call your congressman (http://www.contactingthecongress.org/) or write your congressman (http://americancensorship.org/). For more information about the bill, go to <http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf>.

I don't usually post political stuff (my wife is always telling me to knock it off about that), but this bill isn't very well known yet can affect all of you.

Google-A-Day

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Want a great way for students to practice searching for information online. Try Google-A-Day. Students are given a random question each day that they must search online for the answer. Then they can check their answer against the correct one to see if they're right. :)

http://agoogleaday.com/

Primary Sources

noreply@blogger.com (S. Miller) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hey History/English Teachers!

Need a great source of primary sources documents. Try the Library of Congress. They have a page just for teachers. Besides primary sources they also have lesson plans, activities, and presentations. So, check it out!

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/