Tuesday Tips 2/10/14

TECH TIP:  VideoNot.es

Video Notes is website that allows you (or students) to watch a video on one side of the screen and record their notes on the video on the other side.  You put in any link to a YouTube or some other online video and then start taking notes on the right hand side.  The notes are automatically time-stamped to the section of the video.  If you log in with your Google Account, all the notes you take go right into your Google Drive.  You can also share the notes via email by hitting the Share button.  A great way to incorporate video into homework assignments.

 BOOK TIP:  Popular:  Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

 This book is the 2015 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Non-Fiction Book Award winner.  The author was an 8th grade outcast, a geek, a loser.  She decided to try to become popular and change her social status by following the "rules" from the 1950 book Betty Cornell's Guide to Teenage Popularity to guide her to popularity.  A memoir of acceptance and insight into teen society.  

Tuesday February 3, 2015

TECH TIP:  Game of Chromes

I can take no credit for this idea, but it is one I had to pass on.  I found this on the blog iPadAddiction.  

The Game of Chromes is inspired by the Game of Phones.  In Game of Phones, you buy their deck of cards and everyone has their phone out and you pull a card that says something like "Show the last picture you took."  or "Find the best selfie on Twitter."  Everyone shows their find and one person acts a judge to select the best find.  

In Game of Chromes, you create a set of cards for a topic your students are studying.  They all have a device and the group works to find the items (things like the best picture of Napoleon or the best picture of how you envision a book character). Groups show their finds, you're the judge.  

I'd love to work with you on creating a set of cards and trying this one out!

BOOK TIP:  Two Alex Award winners

The American Library Association just announced their annual book award winners.  The Alex Award goes to books that are written for adults but that have appeal to teens.  Here are two of those winners that are here in the MMRHS library

The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim

The famous TED Talks is now in the book publishing business.  These are short, non-fiction books that expand upon some of its more famous speakers.  This is their first book and it is the story of Zak Ebrahim, whose father was the man behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and how he made a choice to not be like his father.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This is the science fiction story of astronaut Mark Watney.  Watney is the first person to walk on Mars.  While there, a dust storm kicks up leaving him stranded on Mars with no way to communicate with Earth.  A science fiction story of survival and suspense.