Tuesday Tips March 24, 2015

TECH TIP:  The Digital Vaults at the National Archives

 The Digital Vaults at the National Archives are a treasure trove of American artifacts.  You can find images, documents, letters and other primary sources.  They have a description of each item.  You can search by keyword and then add any items into your own personal collection.  You can complete Pathways challenges, where you get hints and clues to figure out certain questions.  

Of particular interest, might be the CREATE link on the bottom.  Here students can create a poster or a movie using the items they have searched and collated at the Digital Vaults.  

BOOK TIP:  A Rich Spot of Earth:  Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J. Hatch

To go along with the Digital Vaults, a beautiful book, rich in images and history, that looks at one of the Founding Fathers' home and gardens.  At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, historians have recreated the vegetable gardens to be just like they were in Jefferson's time.  The pictures and illustrations are gorgeous in this book.  

Tuesday Tip: March 17, 2015

TECH TIP:  Move It Chrome Extension

Spend too much time at your computer?  Move It is a Chrome extension that will get you up and moving.  Add the extension to your Google Chrome tool bar, set the timer interval, and after you've been sitting at your computer for that amount of time, you will get a random physical movement to do or a brain game to complete.  

BOOK TIP:  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Tartt won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for this epic book about Theo Decker, an orphan who comes to have in his possession a valuable piece of art, The Goldfinch.  Theo's life revolves around this artwork.  The book is like a Dickens novel: sweeping, detailed, quirky characters, rags to riches, intrigue.  It has it all.  Not for the faint of heart, as it is a big book requiring some focus.  However, it is one that you will think about long after it is over.  

Tuesday Tip: March 3, 2015

TECH TIP:  Pic Collage 

A way to harness the phone that every student has in their pocket is to have them take pictures (of geometric shapes, patterns, them acting out a scene in a book, posing as an historical character, etc).  They can collate those pictures into a collage through the free app Pic Collage.  

Here is one of fun faculty shots:

BOOK TIP:  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

This book recently took home the Printz Award, which is the American Library Association's award for a young adult novel of literary excellence.  It is the story of fraternal twins who are torn apart by some unknown rift.  The early chapters are told through the eyes of one twin, the later chapters (and years) told by the other.  A well written, and captivating, coming-of-age story.

Tuesday Tip: March 10, 2015

TECH TIP:  Recite This

Looking for a quick way to decorate your classroom with inspirational quotes?  Or perhaps have students create these with quotes from books, historical tips, math concepts, etc.  Recite This is a website that requires no registration, you just type in your content, select the theme, and hit download to save your image.  

Here's an example:

BOOK TIP:  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

This is the fictional account of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh.  An insightful look at being married to the huge celebrity Charles Lindbergh, the loss of her son in such a public kidnapping, and her husband's connection to Nazism.  

Tuesday Tip: February 24, 2015

TECH TIP:  Smore Online Newsletter Creator

Looking for creative ways to keep in touch with students and parents?  Smoreis a free, online newsletter creator.  With the free account, you get 200 emails a month.  It also keeps track of statistics so you can see how many viewed your newsletter.  

I used this program to create my 2nd Quarter Report for the library and emailed it to all of you so can see what it looks like "in action".  

BOOK TIP:  Superhero Books

In honor of Birdman, the story of an actor who played an iconic superhero, winning the Oscar for Best Film, a few books about superheroes.  Both of which are available at the library.

 Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan  by Rick Bowers.  This is an informative and intriguing look at the 1947 Superman radio show when the producers decided that the Man of Steel should take on racism by defeating the Ku Klux Klan.  

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore.  William Marston was the creator of Wonder Woman, and he was inspired by the early feminists and suffragists.  These women are intrinsically tied into the character Wonder Woman.  

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.