Tuesday Tips June 14, 2016

TECH TIP:  Green Screen App by Do Ink

This past week, I had a great time working with Beth Spence's Biology classes on their final projects, which was to create a TED talk on a biology topic.  Several students made use of the green screen in the library and used the iPads with the Green Screen App by Do Ink to produce their videos.  There is a bit of a learning curve with the app, but here is a tutorial on how to use the app:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWAHxtpPp24  I can't wait to see their final products!  

BOOK TIP:  Summer Reading

Check out this year's Summer Reading packet!  Hoping to get lots of students participating and reading this summer.  A goal for next year is to bring back the faculty book club in some form next year....so stay tuned for more details on that!  

Tuesdy Tips June 7, 2016

TECH TIP:  Snapchat 

 When I talk with students about their social media preferences, Snapchat is always at the top of the list.  Snapchat is a messaging application that shares a picture or video.  You can annotate these images with drawings, word messages, and other filters.  You send these "snaps" to your Snapchat friends and once they open the image, it disappears after 10 seconds.  You can now buy on-demand geofilters, that overlay your images and are based on your geographic location.  This is a picture of some of the female staff lined up before graduation using the special MMRHS graduation geofilter.  Shout out Krista Kennedy, Lisken Van Pelt Dus, Beth Spence, Kristi Farina, Kathy Erickson, Nancy Graham and Kathy Roy!

BOOK TIP:  Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is a well regarded young adult author.  This novel is the story of a young man newly diagnosed with schizophrenia.  The story weaves between the "real" world of Caden and the world of his mind.  It took me a bit to get into this, but once you are in and realize what is going on, and those worlds start to overlap, you are hooked.  Very compelling.  The book is interwoven with artwork by the author's son, who is also schizophrenia, and much of the story came from these original drawings.