Tuesday Tips May 31, 2016

TECH TIP:  Team Maker

Team Maker is a quick and easy online team generator, which could be very helpful at the end of the year if you are doing groups or playing games.  You enter in your student's names, select the type of team names you want (could be numbers, Greek gods, sports teams, even Elements!), and the number of teams needed.  Click Generate, and your teams are randomly created! 

BOOK TIP:  Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

I read this book in one day this past weekend!  Madeline has SCID, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency.  Essentially she is allergic to the world and can not leaver her air locked house.  Her world consists of her mother, her nurse, and her online tutors.  But that whole world changes when Olly, moves in next door.  The novel is cleverly written and designed, using art, text, and prose to tell the story.  One that captivates you until the last page. 

Tuesday Tips May 24, 2016

TECH TIP:  Zamzar File Conversion

This tip came about when Kristi Farina had a .wps file she needed to convert to a .doc file.  Zamzar is a free online file converter.  You upload the file you need converted, put in what format you want it converted to, and your email.  The converted file is then emailed to you within minutes.  This is very helpful when students give you things like .pages or .key files that you can't open on your school laptop.  

BOOK TIP:  Serial Podcast

OK, so not really a book, and I'm late to the game on this one, but I just recently finished the podcast of Serial.  I was intrigued to listen to it after reading about a high school that selected the podcast as their school wide summer "read".  Serial is a weekly podcast, where the host follows one true story over the course of a series.  It is a great mix of investigative journalism and story telling.  All the hallmarks of a great non-fiction read.  Season One looks at the case of Adnan Syed and whether or not he was wrongfully jailed for murder.  Highly recommend this one for your summer "listen".

Tuesday Tips May 17, 2016

TECH TIP:  Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets

The Digital Public Library of American Primary Source Sets is a treasure trove of cool stuff!  It is a compilation of primary source material that connects to history, literature and American culture.  The sets are grouped by topic (like Japanese American Internment or the Yellow Fever Epidemic), by novel (like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian or The Scarlet Letter).  Each set also has a teaching guide with ways to use the material with students.  

BOOK TIP:  The Stranger by Harlan Coben

If you are looking for a thriller with many twists and turns, then this is the book for you!  Harlan Coben is a master of the suspense thriller.  In his latest novel, The Stranger, a mysterious stranger appears out of nowhere to tell you the darkest of secrets.  It could be about you or a member of your family.  But whatever it is, it will change your life forever.  This is a book I've recommended to several teachers and they have all really enjoyed it.  Put this one on your summer beach read list!

Tuesday Tips May 10, 2016

TECH TIP:  Google Slides New Features

Google Slides unveiled two new cool features this week.  One is the ability to have your audience ask questions via a link you give them.  That link automatically connects to your presentation.  The presenter can then move back and forth through the slides and the audience questions.  Could be a really neat way to get all students involved by having them post questions.  The audience can vote on the questions and then you could answer the most liked ones first.  Here is a 2 minute video to see this in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFMFXSvlXZY

The other new Google Slides feature is a built-in laser pointer.  When you are in Present Mode, just click on the new Laser Pointer button and your mouse becomes a laser pointer, automatically highlighting what you want.  

BOOK TIP:  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Boy, did I love this book!  Part fairy tale, part magical realism, part survival story.  A childless couple become homesteaders in Alaska in the 1920s.  One night they build a snow girl.   Several days later, a real girl comes to visit.  But is this child real?  Kept me captivated, beautifully written.

Tuesday Tips May 3, 2016

TECH TIP:  YouTube Video Editor

Each quarter, I put together a Quarterly Report that features statistics and happenings in the library.  It is a way to share the good work that you all do here in the library, and it is a way for me to "test drive" some of these tech tools.  For the Third Quarter Report, I made a video using the Video Editor that is built in and FREE to use with your YouTube account (and if you have a Google account, you have a YouTube account).  This could be a great tool for students to use to make video presentations for your classes.  

The video is 1:45 long, and some of you may see yourself in here!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zskxV-0IKE

 

BOOK TIP:  Reboot by Amy Tintera

This one was recommended to me by a student.  A great read!  In a futuristic America, "Reboots" are elite soldiers who have come back to life after dying.  They are able to regenerate and are thus useful as soldiers, especially since the longer you were dead, the less human characteristics you still have.  Wren was dead for 178 minutes, the longest of any Reboot; thus, the less human.  But when she gets an order she doesn't agree with, will any of that humanity come back?