Tuesday Tips January 16, 2018

TECH TIP:  Google Arts and Culture App

 

This is one that has been going viral over the weekend.  I've written about the website Google Arts and Culture before, but their app had a recent update that allows you to take a selfie and it will match your face to a famous painting.  

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I came up as a match for Eliza Paton, a singer and actress of the 1840's.  This one is mostly for fun, but could be a way for students to research art history or use the match as a creative writing prompt.  Show me who you match up with!

BOOK TIP:  They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera

This is a wonderfully powerful book and was chosen by the Student Book Club for its next selection.  In a future world, you are given a call at midnight telling you that this will be the day that you die.  How do you then spend that last day?  And who do you spend it with?  The title says it all, they both die at the end, but the book is mostly about how they live.  

Tuesday Tips January 9, 2018

TECH TIP:  TinyURL.com

Last week, I helped Mike Powell and the Wellness Department come up with an easy, memorable way to get out their survey to the student body.  We used tinyurl.com, which allows you to make a custom alias for a long website link.  It's very easy to create:

I've used this with several classes as ways to get out links to resources including:  

tinyurl.com/cookstopmotion

tinyurl.com/bouviertrip

tinyurl.com/stjohnsurvey

BOOK TIP:  The Faculty Book Club is back!

We rebooted the Faculty Book Club last year with the mission of: The mission of the MMRHS Faculty Book Club is to promote reading and the discussion of professional and inspirational works in an atmosphere that fosters positivity and community. We meet once a year to discuss a shared book. Last year, we read Happy Teacher Habits by Michael Linsin. This year, we will read Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms by Timothy D. Walker.  

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We will meet at the end of March to discuss. I have FIVE COPIES to give to those who would like to join. You will also be able to earn PDPs for joining the book club and discussing. Let me know if you are interested.

Tuesday Tips January 2, 2018

TECH TIP:  Break Your Own News Sign Generator

  Break Your Own News is a fun sign generator.  You enter in your headline and ticker, then upload an image and it instantly creates your CNN like image.  Could be interesting to use with students in rewriting historical headlines, or creating news stories for literature or scientific discoveries.  

BOOK TIP:  The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

A wonderful historical fiction novel based on the true life story of Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus.  Kraus was a young girl in the family camp at Auschwitz where she became the protector of the few books that they had hidden in the camp, risking her life to keep knowledge alive.  

Tuesday December 19. 2107

TECH TIP:  Stop Motion Studio

Beth Spence and I worked with her AP Biology classes on creating stop motion movies showing the cellular process.  Beth handled the content, and I handled the tech piece.  We recommended the use of the free app Stop Motion Studio.  We showed the classes how to use the app and then let them go!  Their final products were great; this could be excellent to use with other classes, particularly with process oriented topics.  Here was an example of one of the final products:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=3we7mGdr_1E

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BOOK TIP:  The New York Times Best Books of 2017

Looking for a good book to read over vacation?  Check out The New York Times recommendations of the best books of the year:

The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2017

The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2017

Tuesday December 12, 2017

TECH TIP:  My Maps at Google Maps

Valerie Zantay asked me this week about using My Maps in her classes as they prepare trips.  In My Maps, which is part of Google Maps, allows you to create custom maps.  You can add in locations, images, videos and write in details as needed.  You can also add in Driving Directions, which will show you the route you will take.  This could be a good tool to use with classes if they need to tour historical locations, map out literature novels, or travel to other countries.  

BOOK TIP:  Genuine Fraud by e. lockhart

This is the next Student Book Club selection.  A bit of everything in this book:  suspense, mystery, hidden identity, social class and a tough female teen lead.  Can't wait to discuss with the group!

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

TECH TIP:  Google Photos Now Right in Google Drive

Google just announced that you can now access your Google Photos right from your Google Drive.  Having your phone camera upload your photos to Google Photos is a great way to save storage on your phone.  You then also have access to your photos on any computer via your Google Drive.  When you are in your Drive, you will now see Google Photos listed along the left hand side bar. 

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BOOK TIP:  National Book Awards Announced

The National Book Awards were announced recently.  Here are a few of the major winners:

• For FICTION:  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
• For NON-FICTION:  The Future is History:  How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russiaby Masha Geshen
• For POETRY:  Half-Light: Collected Poems by Frank Bidart
• For YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE:  Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

TECH TIP:  WordItOut Word Cloud Maker

WordItOut is a word cloud generator.  You put in the text you want to generate a word cloud for and based on the frequency of certain words, the sizes of the words will be different.  You can change the font, colors, and also vary the word size on your own in order to highlight certain words.  This could be a good tool for students to use to visualize parts of texts, or for them to highlight certain words and explain why those are more important than others.  In this example, I used the MMRHS mission statement. 

BOOK TIP:  Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I read a lot and like a lot of books, but every now and then a book comes along that I just absolutely LOVE ​  This is one of those books.  Backman is the author of another of my favorites, A Man Called Ove, and this is his latest.  Set in a small Swedish town that is down on its luck, but high on its successful junior league hockey team.  A terrible incident occurs involving members of the hockey team and it divides the town and changes lives forever.  Wonderful writing, powerful characters, a book I still am thinking about.