Tuesday Tips March 1, 2016

TECH TIP:  KnowMe Video Recording App

This is another way to leverage the device that nearly all our students have: use their phones to create quick videos.  The KnowMe App is a free appthat allows users to make a video using still images or video clips already on their phone.  This is not complicated video editing software, you just hold down a button to add audio narration, swipe a few things around to get the images you want in the right order and you're done!  The final videos are short, which might be perfect for a class assignment.   Videos can't get be uploaded to YouTube, but a link to it can be emailed.   

Shout out to TechCrunch for this idea.

BOOK TIP:  Charles Lindbergh Books

It was on March 1, 1932, that Charles Lindbergh's young son was kidnapped, a crime and subsequent trial that captured the nation.  In honor of that, two books related to Charles Lindbergh.

The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles A. Lindbergh is Lindbergh's own accounting of his record breaking trip across the Atlantic in his solo plane.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel.  

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  I think I may have done this book as a tip before, but it is such a good book!  It s 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 Tips February 23, 2016

TECH TIP:  Issuu: Self-Publishing Online

Just before vacation, I had the opportunity to work with Emily Olds' Discovering Psychology class on creating an ABC book for children.  We smashed two tech tools together for this project:  a shared Google Doc and then Issuu,  a site where you can publish your document online in a slick, magazine format. It was great to see the students work together on the Google Doc on the layout, picture selection, font, and content. The finished document was then uploaded to Issuu, and when I shared it with them, they all said, "Wow!"  A great way for students to see the broader scope of their work.  

Here is a link to their final product:  https://issuu.com/kstauntonshron/docs/psychabcbook__1_

 BOOK TIP:  Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

A few years ago in the Faculty Book Club (anyone up for bringing that back???) we readWhen She Woke by Hillary Jordan.  That book was a futuristic retelling of The Scarlet Letter.  Over vacation, I read Hillary Jordan's debut novel, Mudbound.  This is an historical fiction novel set in post-WWII Mississippi and follows the lives of two farming families, one white and one black.  A powerful, gripping novel centered around a time on the farm when they are "mudbound" in because a storm has knocked the bridge out.  Tragic, hopeful, heart wrenching, a great read.  

Tuesday Tips February 9, 2016

TECH TIP:  Noisli 

I discovered Noisli a few weeks ago and it has changed my prep period.  Noisli is a background noise generator.  You select the ambient noise mix you want.  You can select from rain, waves, night sounds, forest sound, even a coffee shop.  You set the volume level for each one.  I put on some of the noise canceling headphones from the library (you can borrow some too!) and I can't hear ANYTHING but those sounds, blocks out everything else and allows me to focus on the work at hand.  You can get this online, through a Chrome extension, or an iPhone app.  Highly recommend this for productivity.  

BOOK TIP: Sherlock Holmes reads

I'm hoping to do some binge watching and get caught up on the BBC's Sherlock this vacation, so here are a few new books to the library on Sherlock Holmes:

The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Leslie S. Klinger and DK Publishing.   This is the ultimate guide to all things Sherlock Holmes.  Illustrations, flow charts, and descriptions to all the books, movies, and tv series devoted to the famous detective.

Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty.  In the vein of the TV show Elementary, this is a modern reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.  Two young teens, Sherlock "Lock" and Moriarty "Mori" are brought together over the death of a classmate's father and, in true Holmesian fashion, try to solve the case.  A fun read.  

Tuesday Tips February 2, 2016

TECH TIP:  Adobe Slate

Adobe Slate is a free software that makes beautiful, scrolling and interactive stories.  They look very much like a slick website.  You add in text, photos, and links and select a theme.  It then publishes it for you.  The end product is ready to share via Facebook or by weblink.  Only limitation is you can't download.  

I always test out these tools in creating my quarterly reports for the library.  To see Slate in action, here is a link to the library's 2nd Quarter Report: https://slate.adobe.com/cp/UfqA9/

BOOK TIP:  In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Judy Blume has long been a favorite of mine (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was a personal favorite from my youth), and she is back with a book geared towards adults.  Set in Elizabeth, NJ in 1952.   Elizabeth was right in the flight path of Newark Airport, and there were 3 plane crashes in the town within months.  The novel follows many of the townsfolks as they deal with these tragic events, but also as they just deal with the normal dramas of middle class America.  Offers good insight into what the 1950's were like. 

Tuesday Tips January 26, 2016

TECH TIP:  Flowchart Makers

A teacher asked for something that could make an organizational flow chart for a project she is involved with.  Organizing information is also something students need to do for things like research projects, science labs, etc, so these tools could be useful in your classes as well.  Here are two flow chart makers that I recommended:

 LucidChart is an online and iPad app that easily makes flow charts through a quick drag and drop software.  Here is a link for the web version: https://www.lucidchart.com/  a link for the iPad app:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lucidchart-flowchart-diagram/id611543423?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 and a link to a quick video showing how to use:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHk0CzKaS6Y#t=31

Text2 MindMap is a site I have used with students before in order to create an outline and organize their information before writing a paper.  You can see in the image that on the left, you create your outline, then click on "Draw Mind Map".  On the right, pops up your web based on your outline.  This is good for more visual learners.

BOOK TIP:  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Alex Award is an award given by the American Library Association each year to a book written for adults but that has appeal to teens.  Between the World and Me is a winner this year of the Alex Award.  This is a memoir of sorts.  The book is a series of letters written by Coates to his son about what it means to be a black man in America today.  A powerful read.  

Tuesday Tips January 12, 2016

TECH TIP:  New York Public Library Public Domain Images

The New York Public Library recently released 187,000 of their images into the public domain.  This allows these images to be reused and remixed.  This could be a great resource for students in project work.  There are letters from Alexander Hamilton, sheet music from the early 1900's, and pictures of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island.  

Search the collection here:  http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/

Thanks to Joyce Valenza at the blog Never Ending Search for this tip.

BOOK TIP:  Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

The book awards were announced yesterday by the American Library Association.  The Micheal L. Printz award goes to the best young adult book.  Bone Gap by Laura Ruby is this year's winner.  This is a novel of magical realism and mystery.  Roza goes missing, and only Finn witnessed what happened to her.  But he is unsure of what he saw and how to help.  A novel that will keep you guessing and wondering what is real and what is not. 

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.