The Wisconsin Library Geek

Speak Up Sonny!

2013-05-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

As we move closer to fully integrating the Common Core across the content areas, please seek out the help of your media specialist.

We have been waiting for this for a while. Patiently. I would even suggest that we are the "hidden" experts within schools that are vital team members of common core alignment and planning.

Looking at just a fraction of the CCSS language:

Determine main ideas and supporting details...
Interpret information...
Present information, findings and supporting details...
Cite contextual evidence...
Analyze author's purpose...

To me, this is like breathing...a natural part of my professional existence. This is my professional puzzle.

As I read the CCSS more, these skills continue to pop up. They encompass every subject at every grade level. Coupled with the requirement to "present" or "demonstrate", these are powerful factors in students developing a "voice"...which to me is the golden statue at the end of my day.

A couple of ideas that I have done with classes (or have dreamed up) that are core-friendly:

"I'm an expert" presentations or Make your own TED talks

Require your students to become the expert or show their expertise in something. Whether it is a research topic, a science experiment (can anyone say exploding volcano?) or a personal skill, this how-to presentation style works for everyone.

And The Award Goes To...

Run a short awards season in which students nominate and lobby for their own award winner. Librarians traditionally do this for books (e.g. Golden Archer), but the options are really unlimited. This is high-end persuasive speaking.

Talk show, old time radio show, end of the year interviews.

This is a great way to capture highlights of an event or year, highlight something extraordinary within the school, show public support for a fellow student or teacher, or collect survey data. It is relatively easy to create a podcast or video interview and post online (school's Facebook page or website), play over the intercom, incorporate into your library automation system and have available for later reference.

Digital time capsules.

Create interview scripts highlighting the school year and collect clips (video/audio) and photos. Digitize and store for later use or post online on your school's website.

Larry Gets Lost.

Create your very own "Larry Gets Lost" stories. I absolutely love these stories and cannot wait to work with a class to create our own.

Summarizing Strategies

2013-05-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

This girl understands summarizing.

Seriously never need to watch Star Wars (again). She's got it.

I bring this up because I have been working with my own kids lately on reading strategies to improve how they read as well as what they comprehend. I love reading and I want them to be as freakishly avid readers as I am.

But to do this, I had to revisit the "How" in reading. Like all "experts", we forget the fundamentals when we get really good at something. [Tangent...can't wait to see what happens when my kids learn to drive.]

Summarizing is a great strategy to encourage kids to remember what they read, watch, listen to, or see online. It also gives them a great VOICE...a chance to talk, inform, be the teacher, and be the center of attention. Take a couple of minutes to have them summarize the story, talk over their favorite parts, tell you what was important or just comment on what they read.

In my 24/7/365 all-sports household, patience pays dividends.

My favorite: "Text message" summary...140 characters or less. Kik Messenger is a great tool.

From the mouths of babes...

2013-05-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

I love TedTalks. Absolutely thought-provoking and riveting presentations by leading thinkers in their fields.

Like this one.

I have to admit somewhere along the way, I lost the "childish." I lost the ability to be fully immersed in what I was doing, to stop worrying about expectations and assessments, and to lose myself in learning (or teaching for that matter) and play.

Our moves towards the acronym-society (RTI, PBIS, CCSS, NWEA...) is a noble pursuit with solid goals behind it, but are we losing our "AHA" moments, our lightbulbs switching on, our sense of wonder, our joy at learning in communities?

As Adora Svitak says "it is imperative to create opportunities for children so that we can grow up to blow you away."

Here's to being a little "childish" today.

It's Summer!

2013-04-26T08:23:00.003-07:00

Well...at least it feels like it today.

I came across this "essential books" list for kids from Common Sense Media in my daily reading and thought I would share it. I normally don't like summer reading lists because they are heavy on the "classics" of literature. I like the classics but they don't inspire me to read when the weather is beautiful. It's hard to read Dickens at the beach...let along any time.

This list is entirely different and I am quite impressed.

Great books, contemporary and a diverse collection for boys and girls.

I would also recommend giving the Common Sense Media site a perusal. Over the last three years, the site has really blossomed into a "too-good-to-miss" website.

Movie reviews
Great lists for everything (Books, apps, movies...)
Well done videos for use in class (like this one on Following a Digital Trail)
Media-oriented lesson plans with handouts, videos, activities and standards alignment
WAY too many resources for me to list here!

I guess this would be MY summer "reading" list.

This is seriously FREE!

2013-04-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Please thank your friendly librarians and media specialists.

Go ahead. Maybe right now.

Regardless of our bookish nature, we love compliments and flattery as much as the next professional. Maybe more since we spend our days sequestered with books and digital devices.

Here's why I say this...Badgerlink.

Badgerlink is a sizable collection of resources purchased and organized by the DPI's Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning.

Why am I so amped up about Badgerlink? (Was that like 80s, or what?)

EBSCO search...search thousands of newspaper and journal articles by topic or tag. Need to find an article for research data (or want your students to find one)? Use Badgerlink for a quick and easy search for FULL articles.

History Reference Center...Search or browse topics by category or by popular resource to find articles from reliable sources, chapters of books AND firsthand accounts/documents on a variety of historical topics. WOW.

NoveList K-8...Great review site for childrens' to YA books. The site includes the professional reviews as well as other interesting tidbits about the books, breaks the books down by genre and is searchable by age, lexile, reading and interest levels. Great way to find new and interesting books!

Wisconsin Media Lab/ECB...A detailed list of videos available either online (directly from the site) or part of current PBS programming (including show times) on a wide variety of subjects. The online streaming videos play at high quality and look great on SmartBoards.

Soundzabound...THE royalty free music and sounds library for education!

Encyclopedia Britannica...the elementary and middle school versions.

If you haven't been to Teachingbooks, I highly recommend it. Meet the Author videos, book guides and lesson plans, book readings by the author, reader's theater videos and so much more. The resources are all linked by common core standards.

Recollection Wisconsin...Beautiful images of Wisconsin's history. Search by category or by map to uncover timeless photos. The photos are provided by local historical societies and public libraries all over the state.

So much more! Professional crafted research guide, Science Reference Center, kids search tools, LitFinder, bilingual resources and databases,...

Good hunting!

Limitless

2013-04-10T09:00:00.003-07:00

As part of my job, I get to do some pretty interesting things.

I have always been interested in how the brain copes and adapts particularly as it relates to technology. I know that our children's brains are wired differently and able to handle tasks at different and multiple levels. Research is really just beginning to see how differently.

Here's a great sample sent to me by the creator of a multitasking test to see how well your brain can handle multiple objectives at one time.

Created by http://Open-Site.org

I would encourage you to try it...takes about 5 minutes...and curious to hear how you did and your opinions.

As a precursor, I have difficulty switching between tasks (way above the average) but I rock at handling multiple tasks simultaneously with accuracy and speed. That's my confession for the day. Still looking for my "Limitless" potential.

Special thanks go out to Allison for sharing! Looking forward to seeing the research and results...

Pin-It to Win-It

2013-04-10T07:36:00.002-07:00

Social media has truly exploded over the last decade. I think we all get that.

Facebook is huge and we use it to keep in touch with family and friends, share interesting photos, show-off our kids or just be social (social media, right?). Lots of schools and businesses are using Facebook to promote themselves as well. Fast, easy, efficient and able to connect with multiple users instantaneously.

One of my favorite social media (I use social media to describe any tool that shares information, pictures and videos digitally) is Pinterest. If you are not on Pinterest, get an account and go!

Pinterest allows you to quickly "pin" interesting websites, videos, images to a visually organized "board." Basically, you are bookmarking your favorite places. Remember Delicious or Diigo? Yeah, me either.

The beauty of Pinterest:

Any time, any where...

Pinterest has apps for computers, iPads, smartphones, etc...Ever have a chat with someone and they mention this great website and you don't write it down and forget the address? With your phone, just Pin It during the conversation.

It's a graphical organizer!

We are visual people. Our brains work better and we remember more if we see something. You can organize all your pins under boards.

Boards

You can find a board for anything. Literally. As a professional tool, I search for Common Core Resources and find hundreds of boards with thousands of useful tools to teach the core. I can also search by grade, by topic, by science experiment, by business, etc... This is truly an awesome professional tool.

Sharing

Pinterest is a social tool for sharing and commenting on other's pins. Great way to make connections with other people interested in the same things you are and with other professionals.

Recipes

OK. I added this one for myself. Truth be told, I have NOT found a bad recipe yet from anything to drinks for summer to dinners to healthy snacks for my kids. The recipes on here are people's favorites, ones they make often and trust. Truly the best of the best. My wife and I no longer have a cookbook of family recipes...we have Pinterest.

I encourage you to give it a shot. OR, if you have a Pinterest account, let me know...so I can follow you. Also feel free to click on my Pinterest site(s) to see what its all about.

CESA 6 Media Center

My Personal Boards

The Internet Minute

2013-03-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share this riveting infographic from CNET...

Some things jump out at me...

This is an enormous digital footprint that we are leaving. Do we truly know where our information goes?

The potential for a "paperless" society is increasing...I would truly love to see that.

We spend a LOT of time doing nothing. The Internet is now our new past time...instead of things like exercise, playing with out kids, etc... I am guilty of this as I check my email at basketball games.

We are never truly out of contact with others. I remember the day when hoops practice was over and I had to call my mom for a ride...on the pay phone for 10 cents. Now my kids has an iPhone.

The way we get our news information has changed (aka the loss of newspapers in print) but timeliness and relevance have increased dramatically. The entertainment industry is next.

Regardless of their profession, my kids will also be software engineers and app designers.

What else pops out at you? Would love to hear ideas...

Learning to Run (Google Tip)

2013-03-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

At home I have a laptop, my son's, which began to really slow down as all PCs do over time. It's the nature of the beast...or at least the PC. Viruses, malware, extensions running over themselves, and only-true-techies know what else.

There's a point, like a vacuum cleaner, when it can only take in so much junk that it stops working.

So how is this a Google tip, right?

Run Chrome. Step one. Simple, easy and malware resistant.

Clean up the malware, viruses, registry errors and other junk using the right software. I always recommend Malwarebytes and CCleaner. Both are entirely free, take up little hard drive space and only run when you want them.

Clean your computer using Windows Security Essentials. It's free virus software and runs shallowly on your computer. Nortons and McAfee scan everything, take up valuable space and just clog up the system.

Disable Internet Explorer. Yes, I said it. DISABLE IE. For some reason, IE runs all the time even when it is not open. Try it. You can always turn it back on.

Back to my son's laptop. Over the course of the last two years, it began to slow down, slow down even more, to the point of no one wanting to use it. Startup was close to 10 minutes. Internet access was in minutes. Sound familiar?

Then the dreaded "Virtual Memory Too Low" message.

The idea to uninstall Internet Explorer struck me. I don't use IE and it runs constantly. Unfortunately, IE does not lend itself to be uninstalled.

I disabled it. Turned it off.

Interesting thing happened. The computer works like brand new. Brand new.

THINK

2013-03-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

I recently began a graduate course on cyberbullying for re-licensing and as a refresher. With how quickly technology moves, keeping up to date is entirely a challenge.

As I would hope, the course is really getting me to think/re-think about how I operate as a media specialist, tech educator, and general nerd, particularly as it relates using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc...).

My epiphany...the WOW moment...resulted from a comment by one of my classmates (the course is entirely online, btw...you should know me well enough by now). She suggested that we need to adopt some tried and true methods that we use traditionally with students and children to technology education.

Great suggestion and it brings me back to something I said to my own son yesterday.

"You need to think before you say something."

Why can't we apply this to posting and texting as well?

Let's take what we know already...the THINK method...and apply it to social media and communicating digitally:

Funny thing is, other people had this same thought.

THEN, we need to constantly remind our students or children that once our comments are posted, emailed or texted, there will always be a record. Always.

Nugget of wisdom from another classmate:

"Do you want your grandma to read it?"

Angry Physics

2013-03-04T07:14:00.003-08:00

[A quick follow up to my previous "Life's Just a Game" post]

Just one more way to incorporate games into the class...teaching physics (vectors, gravity, etc...) using Angry Birds.

There are some great articles out there detailing the actual physics of the game.

Some other games and suggestions:

Madden, NCAA, any sports related games to teach statistics, averages, etc... Strat-o-matic sports games are quite possibly the best, most advanced statistics-based sports games available. The traditional board game with player cards is math-intensive and awesomely fun for sports nerds.
Dungeons and Dragons...yeah, I am truly THAT nerd...is a great game for storytelling, story arcs and developement, character development, roleplaying and is quite math intensive.
I have had some great success with with games like Candy Crush Saga, Bubble shooter and other pattern recognition games...patterns, colors, shapes, prediction, and planning strategies.
Minecraft and Eden...Worldbuilding games are all the rage with kids. Teachers are using them in highly creative ways.
Sooooo many more...

This is just gentle encouragement that "free" time or structured "game" time during the day doesn't have to be mindless, unproductive fun. Game time can and should be considered at least as productive, and possibly MORE so, than normal seat time activities.

If Google Can't Find It...

2013-02-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

I love this commercial.

For some odd reason, it speaks to me.

It speaks to me particularly because we are at a crossroads in our information revolution (perhaps education evolution, as well). It speaks to me because it accurately reflects what we are becoming as information consumers. It also speaks to me because of the blind faith (myself included) we place in our devices and gadgets (and Internet).

As a test, have your students or kids do a search on Google. A search for anything. If it's not on Google, it must not exist, right?

I can almost guarantee that the search terms used might be the exact question you just asked. This is not a bad place to start, necessarily, but is it optimal? Are we enticing our students to actually think about what type of results/information they are getting? What types they need to get? How to use that information persuasively and accurately?

In other words, are we pushing students to evaluate, assimilate, and manipulate...or just regurgitate? Do we ask the dreaded "unGoogleable" question? (Yes, I said it...some things are not on or from Google. Is there a support group for this?)

Three things hit me last week:

I read a post by Michael Keany with some great examples of "essential" questions--questions that have more than one answer and no "perfect" answer. I am particularly enamored of this one for every level of student--is it better to work together or alone?
Elena Aguilar gives AWESOME alternatives to the traditional book report. Not only does she hit higher-order thinking but great collaborative efforts, persuasion and exposition, performance opportunities and technology standards. Everything the common core is about. Powerful.
My six year old came home with math assignments that ask for number facts and fact families. I had to refresh my understanding. For example, how many ways can we get to the number 20?

As encouragement, here are some easy ways to "unGoogle" your class activities:

Ask an essential question as part of your class' weekly journal or writing project. "When is violence justified?" would be an awesome discussion (or even unit) starter.
Start an assignment with the statement..."(Here's the problem), how do we fix it?"
Give the answer first, then ask "How do we know this is true (or false)?"
Give the parts and ask "What can we make out of this?" (or numbers, or words, etc...)
Try something as simple as "Bucket Fillers."

How DO we fill someone's bucket today?

Multitasking Chrome-Style (Google Tip)

2013-02-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Google Chrome is truly a fully customizable browsing experience. Besides the security and ease of use, Chrome has so many features that are just downright cool.

The one I use daily is the ability to open multiple tabs on startup. If you are a heavy user of online tools, this saves time and lots of clicking around. I understand that this sounds pretty lazy...how long does it really take to click on a new tab and find it?

I like to look at my computer as my toolbox. When I DIY at home, I hate realizing I forgot a tool in the garage or can't find that elusive allen wrench or misplaced my flashlight (this one is entirely my kids fault, btw). Searching for it with patience and grace don't seem to be in my nature. It's best to start the job with all of your tools available. Chrome is my work tool.

Every day, I use multiple gmail accounts, this blog, Pinterest, Hangouts. To have them right at my fingertips, I set up Chrome to open them at start up.

Click on Settings
Under the "On Startup" settings, click the circle next to: Open a specific page or set of pages
Click on "Set Pages"
Enter the URL of all the pages you would like to open on Startup

That's it!

Have your "toolbox" work for you.

More Cool Chrome Tricks

Life's Just a Game

2013-02-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

More and more, I see seminars, webinars, and conferences focusing on "gaming" in the classroom. I have already posted on this subject, but I am seeing a wealth of discussion within the last 6 months about the benefits of gaming in the classroom. Education professionals have been including a huge variety of games in the discussion--educational, MMORPG (don't know what that is?), apps, flash games online...you name it.

Can you name this game?

As much as I would love to play Candy Crush at school (addicted, thanks), I have been following these webinars to get to the heart of why gaming is becoming such a relevant and timely topic.

Why the sudden explosion of gaming conversations?

The real heart of the matter lies in two trends:

First, I think as educators and as parents, we have finally begun to embrace technology as a means of enhancing education and teaching. Tablets and smartphones have changed the way we communicate, find information and access everything from anywhere. We aren't locked to a computer on a desk anymore. We are "enlightened", "liberated" even.

We are far removed from the thought that a computer is for typing a paper or for use during free time. We are far removed from technology being "clunky"--dialup, anyone?--or complex. I still remember 6th grade computer programming and spending a quarter of the year making an image that looks Wreck-it Ralph. Am I stamping "old" on myself?

As a parent of 4 boys, my emphasis is on getting my own kids, as well as my students, as much exposure and use of different devices as possible. I want them using computers, tablets, Chromebooks to enhance their learning. Why?

Experiential
Hands-on
Multimedia/multidimensional
Intrinsically motivating
Higher level thinking skills (just by using technology to solve problems)
Enhances problem-solving
Enhances decision-making and tool selection
Collaborative
Preparedness for the future

Sounds like game skills, right? Wrapped up in this desire is the fact that my generation--meaning parents of school-age children--have had 30 years of exposure to technology. Remember the Apple IIe?

Second, I think the increased emphasis on gaming comes from our move towards the Common Core. I grabbed this snippet from an elementary standard in math:

The more I look at these practices, I see games...all sorts of games. Particularly games that involve "leveling" or meeting more increasingly complex tasks as you increase in level.

RESOURCES

For those of you concerned, IXL Math is a game. Into the Book online site is a game.

Other resources and ideas:

Minecraft is the new "addiction" for children. Look at how it can be used for education.
A webinar for using World of Warcraft in the classroom endorsed by the DPI.
A collection of games and how they can be used.
Fantasy Football--fun game for math skills!
Try Strat-o-matic basketball or baseball to challenge students in math. Incredible levels of higher level math involved in statistics-based games
Candy Crush (I am truly addicted). Great test of mental strategy, pattern matching, planning for the future, goal attainment. Any app (e.g. Angry Birds, for instance) can be used like this.
Simulation, turn-based games either online or on a device... Tank Battle 1944 and Civil War 1863 are two that I play regularly. These are awesome for strategy, planning, knowing your resources, etc...

Let me know of interesting game ideas. Would love to hear how you use games in your classroom.

Just a reminder that games are good for adults too.

It's All Shiny and New (Google Tip)

2013-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

By far, my favorite, "shiniest" part of the Google Chrome browser experience is the extensions and apps. The second best feature, in case you are interested, is the security...no random toolbars!

Chrome provides an excellent, customizable browsing experience with a wide variety apps and extensions through the Chrome Store.

Apps...programs the run directly in the Chrome Browser. These can include games (Angry Birds, anyone?), software like Evernote and many other programs.
Links...apps that are really just links to the online website of a cool tool.
Favorites...you can turn your favorite websites and tools into a Chrome app icon...COOL!
Extensions...apps the run in the Chrome browser but that generally run all the time. Normally, once installed an icon appears on the top right of the Chrome window. Many of these are utilities for smoother operation.

My favorites extensions:

Awesome Screen Capture...easy screen capture tool that lets you select the part or parts of the screen you want to capture.
Boomerang for Gmail...excellent way to write an email and save to send for a later date.
Scratchpad...quick and efficient way to take notes
Google Hangout...who doesn't like to Hangout? Much of my work collaboration with colleagues is through Google Hangouts.
Evernote with Web Clipper...clip sections of web pages, add notes, edit, etc...
Reviews of others
More Reviews

My favorite apps...or at least the start of my list!

My Own Personal Checkdown

2013-02-01T08:20:00.001-08:00

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure to have a dinner conversation with Ian Jukes as part of a district meeting to discuss technology planning for districts. During this conversation, I was struck by how profound Jukes' comments were and how completely out of sorts his vision was with the actual state of affairs in most districts. The question I always came back to was "HOW are we going to implement this?"

Three years and a shift to an entirely different type of job (thanks to CESA 6's vision), I am not saying "how, how, how" any more. I don't view technology as the "essential", the tool and the end product. The world is changing, our students have changed and my own view of education and technology has changed (hopefully "matured").

In Literacy is Not Enough: 21st-Century Fluencies for the Digital Age, Lee Crockett, Ian Jukes and Andrew Church hit the heart of the matter immediately:

Independent and creative thinking are the most important aspects of learning
We need to teach our students to not need us by the time they graduate (progressive withdrawal)
Learners must master problem-solving, not content
Emotional intelligence (relationships, people skills, street smarts) are equally important as cognitive intelligence (content, book smarts)
Education should be immersed in our new digital world. We need to leverage our students' realities to be successful
Student learning and assessment is a portfolio of performance, demonstrations and applications to solve real-life problems
Education must strive for relevancy

Sound familiar? Creative thinking, problem-solving, project-based, real-world application, performance and production... Sounds strikingly like a general summary of the Common Core Standards.

As a techno-nut, IT instructor and media specialist, this greatly affects how I view everything I do with classes, teachers and during staff development. It's not teaching the tool, it's teaching HOW the tool makes us stretch, HOW the tool makes us achieve, HOW the tool helps us think more creatively...HOW...HOW...HOW.

Took three years, but I finally got my answers to all those HOW questions.

If you are interested in this book, please let me know. Love to share it.

More of Ian Jukes

New Thoughts on Assessment

2013-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share this video...

Gee's arguments are truly profound, but profoundly sensible. If you have read any of my previous posts, you will understand when I say that we need students to think, create, problem-solve and fail-to-succeed. These are the basic tenets of gaming environments.

Think about something as simple as Where's My Water? It might have a simple premise and a cute alligator, but the problem solving involved in moving to the next level is not easy to assess on a standard test. But it is high-level thinking, nonetheless.

I often use my own kids as examples of technology use in all its forms. I like to see them struggle, face challenges, figure things out for themselves and succeed. In the case of games, success means getting to the next level. Highly intrinsic motivation. Highly individualized competition. Built-in assessment.

So my suggestion is this:

Grab technology, find (create) a great game, give some objectives and get out of the way!

AND...educational games are just as addicting and "non-educational" games.

Lights! Camera! Action! Apocalypse Reloaded

2013-01-17T07:54:00.001-08:00

Well...OK. Not apocalypse. Reloaded definitely. Part Deux?

My original post focused on stop action movies created with iMotionHD. I continue to love the usability and features of iMotionHD.

Recently I began compiling a list of movie-making and editing software and apps (free or otherwise) that students can use to "create"--an integral part of the Common Core.

Thought I would share:

Apps that are great for movie making:

[Great site for royalty-free music]

I am always looking for more...if you have a great online tool, please let me know.

Embrace the Common Core = Give Your Librarian a Hug

2013-01-14T12:43:00.006-08:00

As most of us grapple with the Common Core, please keep in mind the following advice: Give Your Librarian a Hug. Or at the very least an enthusiastic high-five.

In our small and quiet ways, we, meaning those of us resilient and courageous enough to be called school library media specialists, have worked hard over the years in selecting well-balanced, thoughtful and diverse collections of materials for students to read. We read reviews, pre-read, converse with reading specialists. Our goal--student reading.

To be honest, most of us are still book-lovers.

The CCSS could have been written by library media specialists. Truly, it could have been. While there is much more to the Core, here are the parts I like the best:

Balanced information (i.e. non-fiction) and literary (fiction) texts
Emphasis on actually reading the documents instead of reading textbook summaries
Increasing complexity of texts and time allowed to read, analyze, and re-read
Creation of "evidence" from texts
Writing based upon reading
Higher levels of vocabulary

Singing Praises for LMS everywhere (and me by default)!

Library media specialists work hard, very hard, to provide high-quality, diverse and challenging materials for students. Perhaps the most important part of our job is building a great library collection with the funds we have available. And I can guarantee, that to the last LMS, we make sure every penny counts.

Look in any nice school library collection and you will find:

Great biographies
Wonderful science books
Poetry
Children's books galore
Fiction...The newest, the classics, the unusual
Graphic novels
Hi/Lo resources

Ranganathan's Laws of Library Science (1931) still apply today...Every reader has his/her book, every book has its reader.

I would encourage you to invite your library media specialists to Common Core planning meetings. Invite them to team and grade level meetings. Ask them for book requests or reviews. Hit them up to work with your classes.

Chances they already have what you are looking for.

And especially to give them a hug.

Common Core Resources

The Professional Essayist (Google Tip)

2013-01-11T07:58:00.002-08:00

With a vast majority of schools moving towards Google Docs, particularly with students, the question of "professional" or "scholarly" quality work being produced using a simple Google Doc keeps coming up. I've had discussions over the past month or so at several school districts about quality (i.e. college level) using Google.

We can certainly agree that:

a Google document does not have the same feel or adaptability that Word does. Formatting a scholarly essay has its challenges with the framework of Google tools. Finding and formatting headers, for instance, is a unique experience (headers are under "insert", btw).
Docs don't have all the same bells and whistles that Word does.

So why the urgency of switching?

The whole attachment/submission issue...no attachment issues, file formats not opening or lost (or blocked) emails to worry about.
Immediate feedback...add comments, corrections and other notes directly on the document and students have immediate response for correction or improvement.
Immediate access...access to Google docs is from any wi-fi or cellular device.
Plagiarism...at any point in a Google doc, you can highlight text and search for it using Google. This is one of the most efficient and quick ways to find plagiarized work.
Universities, most notably the UW system, has gone or is going Google.

Zoho also makes a great online suite of programs (presentations, docs, spreadsheets, etc...) which are the "middle ground" between word and Google. Zoho is also online, has similar sharing features and includes more bells and whistles than Google's baseline docs.

[Please note that both Google and Zoho have the ability to "save as" wither a Word document or a PDF so students with no internet access at home have the ability to convert files and still work productively at home.]

Spicing Up Your Social Life (Google Tip)

2013-01-03T07:56:00.003-08:00

If you are anything like me, your calendar is booked solid. Finding white space on my work or personal calendars is like finding a needle in a haystack...or better...like finding the fountain of youth.

If you are anything like me, you also guard this white space like it's gold.

Our calendars really section our lives off into meaningful sections providing guidance, purpose and even a little sanity to what could be an otherwise hectic and chaotic life. I love my Google Calendar. It is on my phone, iPad, my wife's phone, my kid's iTouchs, etc...

One really interesting feature of Google calendars is the ability to subscribe to "interesting" calendars. Currently I subscribe to the Packers and Badgers football schedules.

The real power of this option is the ability to create your own (or district) calendars to share. For example, a district's entire calendar can be imported and shared via Google calendars. Subscribers receive updates and alerts to upcoming events in real-time. Districts can update their calendars, add scores, documents, newsletters and subscribers receive them automatically.

Other possibilities:

Classroom or Assignment Calendars
Activity calendars (student council or clubs)
Athletic events
More!

Document Updates (Google Tip)

2012-12-19T08:09:00.001-08:00

Now that students are fully in the swing of using Google Docs and sharing, collaborating, moving and shaking the world...easy for them, not so much for us...there is one important feature that Google Docs is lacking. But an easy workaround makes it not so important.

In Google Spreadsheets, there is an option to receive/send email notifications of updates on any Google spreadsheet. Docs does not have that feature. To be honest, I am not sure why. I find it to be an awesomely cool way to receive updates on Docs other than having to go to Google Drive and look at the last modified date or the revision history.

Easy Workaround:

Students update their document in Google Docs
Automatically saves.
Make sure you, as the teacher/collaborator, are listed under their sharing permissions
When they are ready to share their update, they go to File--Email Collaborators
Type a short email message. It is also possible to include the update in the email.
All collaborators receive the notification and/or update via email.

This is a real quick and efficient way (and time-saver for you) to receive notifications of updates/changes/revisions.

Where Did the Smurfs Go?

2012-12-13T08:43:00.003-08:00

My kids and I are pretty toon-savvy. They watch a wide variety of shows on Cartoon Network, Nick, PBS and the myriad of other toon stations out there.

Regular Show is one of those guilty pleasures for me...although perhaps a little too "tweener" for my kids yet. I think so many of today's cartoons are written so intelligently with subtle humor, contemporary insights and a great sense of where we, as a society, have come from. They don't rely on the fall-down, push-off-a-cliff humor of cartoons from my youth (Yosemite Sam, Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry).

In fact, I refuse to let my kids watch cartoons with which I grew up. Too violent.

One of my favorite episodes (which I caught yesterday again) is called "Butt Dial." Below is a wee snippet. I particularly love the "guardian council" for today's voicemails. Entirely nerd humor.

Google Play (Google Tip of the Week)

2012-12-13T08:23:00.002-08:00

We all know how cool the Apple App Store is by this point. Easy to use, easy to search,...and for the most part, the good apps are either free or $0.99.

Google recently (last summer-ish) relaunched its app store in the form of Google Play. With roughly 45% of smartphone users owning an android phone (iPhones are around 27%) and with android tablets making a dent in tablet market, Google finally decided to invest its considerable talents and resources in designing a user-friendly store.

Same apps, different format. Nice experience. Movies, books, music, apps and more.

I just recently bought my son a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7 inch) for his birthday. He will be 9. As much as I love my iPad and use it as my main means of media consumption, I bought the Samsung for my son for a number of reasons:

Price...$179 vs $329 for the iPad mini...great deal for a tablet.
Customization...Android devices are much less restricted by software and "whatever" Apple is selling.
Expandable memory
File formats...much easier to watch, read, enjoy multiple formats for books, videos and documents
Apps...Google Play and the Apple Store have the same number of apps available
Challenge...for my tech-savvy soon-to-be 9 year old, I love the challenge that android devices provides. He might not excel at reading, but he overachieves in technology.

Check out the Google Play store.

Lights! Camera! Stop. Action. Movies.

2012-12-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season quickly upon us...starts right after Labor Day now...we have the opportunity to watch the classics of our generation. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town and others.

What ever happened to the art of stop-action movies?

I think our modern-day desire for real-time action, high-def computer graphics and reliance on technology has made stop-action truly a lost art form. Even my own kid's favorite, Bob the Builder, has gone computer-enhanced!

Stop-Action (SA) movies can be a wonderful (as in fun and educational), high level, creative (think top-level Bloom's Taxonomy) digital storytelling project within your classroom. SA can be as easy or as challenging as you make it and be used in so many unique and interesting ways.

Movies can also be made using a variety of handy (and available) tools.

iPads...iMotion HD is incredibly easy to use for all ages.

Document Cameras for 3D (like Rudoph) or 2D movies like Common Craft videos

Digital cameras and photography

Video Software for project editing, adding music and narration, timing...Windows Movie Maker, iMovie (computer or iPad version), Photostory, Videolicious...

Awesome Stop-Action Movie Made By Students:

If you are currently making movies in class, I would LOVE to hear about it and share success stories.