Tuesday Tips January 29, 2019

TECH TIP:  Headliner Video Creator

  Headliner is a web app that easily creates social media style videos, similar to the ones you see on Facebook or Instagram that have the big captions built in and zooming pictures.  With Headliner, you have several kinds of videos you can create: an audiogram from an uploaded audio file, you can upload a video file and it will create the captions for you, or you can upload text content and it will automatically match it to images or you upload your own images. 

I do a report each quarter to highlight the statistics and happenings in the library.  For my second quarter report, I used Headliner.  Take a look!

BOOK TIP:  Becoming by Michelle Obama

I recently listened to the audiobook version of this (which I highly recommend as Michelle Obama narrates it herself) and it is her autobiography from her time growing up on the South Side of Chicago right through the transition to the Trump administration.  

Tuesday Tips January 22, 2019

TECH TIP:  Zipgrade PD this Thursday!

 This Thursday, every period in the library, I'll run a Drop-In PD session on Zipgrade.  This is a tool you need to see in action!  It grades multiple choice assignments using an app on your phone.  It will save you time on grading and provide quick formative assessment information.  

  

 

Stop in during your prep period on Thursday and learn about Zipgrade.  Snacks and coffee will be provided.

BOOK TIP:  The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee is our next Student Book Club pick.  It is a fanciful romp through 18th century Europe with Henry "Monty" Montague as he goes on a Grand Tour of the continent before taking over his family's estate. He travels with his friend, Percy, whom Monty has a crush on.  School Library Journal said in its starred review of the book, "..... a witty, romantic, and exceedingly smart look at discovering one’s place in the world. A stunning powerhouse of a story...".  

Tuesday Tips January 15, 2019

TECH TIP:  Dayboard:  Chrome Extension for Focus and Task Management

Dayboard is a Chrome extension that helps you keep focused on the 5 most important tasks of your day.  Once you've added the Dayboard extension to Google Chrome, every time you open a new tab, you are given your To Do List for the day.  This way, if you try to escape what you should be doing by going to Facebook, you'll be reminded of what you should be focused on!  

When you select Focus Mode from the top, only your top task is shown.  This does not go away until you complete it.

BOOK TIP:  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This novel will take you back to the days of old Hollywood.  Evelyn Hugo is a movie star of the 1950's, and the novel starts in the modern era as she is in the process of writing her autobiography with a young author.  It takes you through her seven marriages and what they all meant to her.  It's an epic glorious tale of love, Hollywood and secrets.  

Tuesday Tips January 8, 2019

TECH TIP:  Drop-In PD

Thank you to all the departments I was able to visit and survey about what mini-PD topics you'd be interested in.  Here are the results of that survey, where Formative Assessment Ideas and Tools was the top selection:

Thus, on Friday, January 25, will be the first Drop-In PD session on ZipGrade, which allows you to grade multiple choice tests on your phone.  The same session will run every period, and will include a ten minute overview, time for you to experiment, along with snacks and coffee!  Hope you can join me!

BOOK TIP:  Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

I finally got to read this epic novel about a Korean family living in Japan throughout the early 1900's.  The book is a National Book Award Finalist and was on many Best of Lists for 2017.  It follows one family over four generations as they immigrate to Japan, where Koreans face racism and marginalization.  It is powerful and stunning, set in a time and place I knew little about.