Tuesday Tips January 5, 2016

TECH TIP:  ClassHook 

ClassHook is a website that allows you to search for video clips. All the clips come from well-know television shows and movies.  Some of the clips are from longer YouTube videos, but the ClassHook link takes you right to the small section you want.  These would be great to use in class as an introduction to "hook" students in (who else has been here long enough to remember the Hook & Hold 'Em PD session? :)  

For example, I was just talking with Anne D'Aniello about her class' visit tomorrow for the students to study revolutions.  I put in a search for "revolution" at ClassHook and it took me to a clip from the movie Animal Farm and Old Major's speech.  This could be good to use with a class or part of a student's presentation on revolution.  

Found this tip at the Free Technology for Teachers blog.  

BOOK TIP:  The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite current authors.  Full of quirky, flawed characters in unique situations.  But these are characters with heart, and you ultimately want the best for them.  In this novel, Ellen is a hypnotherapist whose new boyfriend has an ex-girlfriend that is stalking him.  Sounds like a set up for a horror story, but this is really a novel about love and all its many forms.  

Tuesday Tips December 15, 2015

TECH TIP:  Google Cardboard

Looking for an inexpensive, but super fun, stocking stuffer for the techie in your life?  Get them the Google Cardboard!  I had this around the library last week and students love it!  It is a virtual reality viewer.  You buy the cardboard device (lots of different options but can be purchased for under $5 at Amazon), download the free apps onto your phone, slide your phone in and explore!  The New York Times was also giving out these viewers to some of their subscribers and they have an app that allows you to explore in virtual reality many of the places they cover in their stories.  

BOOK TIP:  What To Think About Machines That Think by John Brockman

Another great idea for the techie in your life.  This is a collection of essays by today's leading scientists, thinkers, and artists.  The essayists reflect on technology, artificial intelligence, and the role of machines in our life today. Makes you think.

Tuesday Tips December 8, 2015

TECH TIP:  Doodle Poll

Have you ever tried to schedule a meeting, a party, or a study session with a group of people?  It can be tough to find the best time for all involved, and if you do it over email or text message, it can become a mess as you lose track of who can come on what dates in the slew of texts and emails.    Doodle Poll is the answer to that!  Doodle Poll is free and allows you to post options for dates and times and then the poll gets emailed to your invitees.  It looks like this:

You simply enter your name and select the best dates for you.  When others go to the poll, they can also see the best times for others.  You can set the poll so they can only select one option or any that they are available.    I just used it this week to schedule a pot luck dinner - and it was so easy!  

BOOK TIP:  Eden West by Pete Hautman

The Grace are a religious people who live in Nodd, their isolated compound in Montana.  Jacob knows only this life.  Until one day, he ventures off the compound through the broken fence and meets Lynna, a "Worldly" girl from next door.  This glimpse of the outside world leaves Jacob confused and unsure of his faith and the reality of life at Nodd.  This is a fascinating look at religion, faith and what is true.  

Tuesday Tips December 1, 2015

TECH TIP:  SaysIt Sign Generator

This is a fun one (although not all choices are school appropriate), but Says-It has options for making all kinds of signs like the one above.  You can also make an official seal!   Students make use of this with historical quotes, book character lines, posters for your classroom, etc.   Thanks to Lisa Nielsen's blog for this tip.  

BOOK TIP:  The 2015 GoodReads Choice Awards

Each year, readers vote and select the best books of the year in several categories.  Here are allthe winners.  Some selections on here good for holiday gift ideas!  If you're interested in reading any right away, the MMRHS library has these titles:

• Go Set the Watchman by Harper Lee
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Queen of Shadows by Sarah Maas

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.