Tuesday Tips: 12/16/14

Every Tuesday, a tech tip and a book recommendation from the library.

TECH TIP:  A look back at 2014

Check out this video from Google that highlights the top searches of the year (the Top Two most searched items were the World Cup and Ebola):  https://www.google.com/trends/2014/

The most watched video of the year on YouTube was Mutant Giant Spider Dog:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoB8t0B4jx4

BOOK TIP:  Skyscrapers: A History of the World's Most Extraordinary Buildings by Judith Dupre

I just bought this book for the library and it is amazing.  So cool to look at it.  It is as large as the buildings it covers.  A great gift for an architect buff.  

Tuesday Tip 12/2/14

 TECH TIP:  Tackk https://tackk.com/education

If you are looking for a public way to post your assignments, Tackk might be the service for you.  It allows you to make quick and simple webpages.  Registering for a free account allows you to save your Tackk pages forever.  If you don’t register and make a page, it will expire after one week. 

Other features:

• ·      Templates for education.  Customize these for your specific needs:  https://tackk.com/@tackklessons
• ·      Add tools to the webpage like RSVP, video, audio
• ·      Set the page to private so only those in your class can view
• ·      Send out an invite to the page via email
• ·      Customize the URL to your name or class
• ·      While you can’t attach Word files, you can add in URL links to your Google Docs.

 A quick example I made:  https://tackk.com/zyz8h9

 Tackk in the Classroom Page (be sure to watch the Demo Video):  https://tackk.com/education

BOOK TIP:   All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Just selected by GoodReads as the best historical fiction novel of 2014, this novel centers around a young blind girl in occupied France during World War II.  Her story is intertwined with a German boy who is an expert at radios.  The brief chapters and beautiful prose will keep you turning the pages.  It is one of those books that you are sad when it is over.