Tuesday Tips November 24, 2015

TECH TIP:  The Great Thanksgiving Listen

I heard about this on NPR the other night.  Many of you may have heard about StoryCorps, a national program that allows people to interview each other, recording and preserving those conversations through the StoryCorps program.  This Thanksgiving, StoryCorps is looking to "preserve the wisdom of generations" by sitting down with an elder, interviewing them, and saving that interview to the app.

BOOK TIP:  Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

In honor of Thanksgiving, a wonderful book about the tentative connections between the English Puritan settlers and the Native peoples on Martha's Vineyard.  It follows Bethia Mayfield and Caleb, the son of a chieftain who goes on to become the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.  It is loosely based on his true story.  Brooks is a divine writer, setting a tone with her writing that makes you feel as though you have been transported to the 1660's.  

Tuesday Tips November 17, 2015

TECH TIP:  "App Smash" of PicCollage and Phrase.It

I use my quarterly reports as an opportunity to learn a new tech tool.  This quarter's report is an "app smash" of two tools: PicCollage and Phrase.It.  PicCollage I used to make the collage and borders and Phrase.It was used to add the cartoon word bubbles.  These are two tools that could be easily used in a class: quotes from historical people, alternate conversations between book characters, etc.  

BOOK TIP:  X: A Novel by Ilyasha Shabazz and Kekla Magoon

Written by Malcolm X's daughter, this is a fictionalized account of Malcolm's childhood and teen years.   Shabazz says while fictionalized, all the characters and events are based on truth and family stories.  It is an intriguing new look at the formative years of Malcolm Little and what perhaps motivated him to become Malcolm X.   

Tuesday Tips November 10, 2015

TECH TIP:  Pecha Kucha 20x20 Presentation Style

 I learned about this presentation technique at the PD day at the Berkshire Museum.  Pecha Kucha is a Japanese word meaning "blah blah".  It is a presentation technique developed by architects to reduce the length of their presentations and keep them focused on the task at hand. 

 You have 20 slides, that are preset to run for only 20 seconds on your Powerpoint presentation.  Thus, the presentation will last only 6 minutes and 40 seconds.  During your presentation you talk only about what is on the slide and, as soon as it turns, you move on to the next slide.   The timing and number of slides could change depending on your class requirements.

This would be a great way to have students present and to showcase what they really know.  You could do this as a "battle decks"  (another great PPT presentation technique), where you pre-select the slides and images, and they have to talk about them.   I'd love to work with you on putting these together!

BOOK TIP:  Just Mercy:  A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

This was a powerful read. Stevenson works at a legal non-profit working primarily with death penalty cases in Alabama.  He traces the wrongful imprisonment of several men on death row and examines the role of racism and poverty in their cases.  Will definitely make you think.