Tuesday Tips April 24, 2018

TECH TIP:  Screen Recording in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, you can easily do a screen recording.  This would allow you to make how-to recordings or have students make recordings of their presentations and share those with you.  All you do is select Insert, and then Screen Recording and follow the on-screen instructions from there.  

BOOK TIP:  West Cork Audible Original Series

  So this is not really a book, but an it is an incredible audio story!  If you liked the podcasts Serial or S Town, then you will love this one. This is an original series from Audible, and is free to download right now.  In 1996, in remote West Cork, Ireland, a French woman was brutally murdered.  Who killed her is still a mystery.  A captivating true crime audio series!

Tuesday Tips April 10, 2018

TECH TIP:  Classroom Screen

If you often have your computer on your projector, Classroom Screen is a great landing page to have up.  It is a background page that allows you to customize it based on your needs.  You select the background image and then can add:

• Multiple Languages
• Random Name selector (type in the names then it will pick one)
• Sound level indicator (decide how loud you want it and then it will indicate when the class is over the acceptable noise level)
• QR code (students can scan the link you want them to go to)
• Timer
• Exit polls (post a quick question they respond to with emojis)

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BOOK TIP:  Free Book Table this Thursday!

Stop in and get some vacation reading with our free book table!

Tuesday Tips April 3, 2018

TECH TIP:  Cue YouTube: Create YouTube Playlists

Cue YouTube is an easy to use site that allows you to make YouTube playlists that you can quickly share.  On the left side, you search for the videos, and on the right is your playlist of videos.  If you have a group of videos you want students to watch for homework or on their phones, you add the videos here and then simply share the link with them.  You could also have students create the playlists and share with their classmates.  ​

BOOK TIP:  Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

   

This memoir reminded me of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  Tara Westover grew up in a fundamentalist Mormon survivalist family in Idaho.  She never attended school and violence ran through the family.  Despite such odds, Westover goes on to get her PhD from Cambridge.  An amazing story, hard to believe her resilience and perseverance.  

Tuesday Tips March 27, 2018

TECH TIP:  SIRS Issue Researcher

SIRS Issue Researcher is one of the library's databases and I shared it this week with Brian Leslie's Sociology class and Meghan St. John's Journalism class. It's a great resource that could be helpful in many of your classes and students have access anytime, anywhere to it (NOTE: if accessing from home, you will need to use the password you get from the library)  Here's what it looks like:

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BOOK TIP:  The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

​If you like a good suspense novel with lots of twists, or were a fan of Gone Girl, then you'll love this one!   Richard's former wife is going after his new fiancee, but this is a novel where you should never trust anything or anyone!  Put this one on your summer beach read list!

Tuesday Tips March 20, 2018

TECH TIP:  Write Arounds in the Library

I love when the library can be used as a creative learning space.  Meghan St. John and I collaborated in her Journalism II class for her unit on editorials.  We began by using the write around technique to introduce various types of editorials to them.  Meghan selected the editorials and I set up the library using the "low tech" tools of enlarged readings, colored butcher paper, markers and a on-screen timer.  The students then spent time at each station, annotating the editorials through a specific lens at each rotation.  We then used these table posters the next day to discuss the pros and cons of each editorial. 

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BOOK TIP:  Wellness Wednesday with the PE Classes

Ryan Kelly and Michelle Campbell put out a call to any teachers who wanted to lead a Wellness Wednesday.  Last Wednesday, all of the PE classes met in the library and I shared about the stress reducing benefits of reading, including a 2009 study at University of Sussex that found that reading can reduce stress by 68%!  We then let the students grab a sleeping bag or blanket and find a comfy place to curl up with something to read.  It was great to see how calm the students were throughout the period!  Here are some pictures from the day:

Tuesday Tips March 6, 2018

TECH TIP: Printing Your Own Custom Sticky Notes

This is a tip that I read about from another blogger and I love it!  Using a sticky note template, you can add in your own content and designs and then print those right onto sticky notes!  I've used it to make my daily to do list:

You could make custom sticky notes for:

• Project checklists
• Math Grids
• Date Due reminders
• Notes to Parents
• Positive notes for students
• Thank you notes
• To Do Lists
• Pictures / Emojis

I've attached the Word documents below that will allow you to create your own custom sticky notes.  When printing, be sure that you know the correct way to lay down the notes into your printer!  ​

BOOK TIP:  The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

   There has been a lot of historical fiction set during World War II, but this novel has a unique perspective on this time period.  Set in Germany, the book follows three women, all of whom are the widows of resistors, men who led a campaign to kill Hitler.  This is a story of survival and forgiveness, spanning many years.  

Tuesday Tips February 27, 2018

TECH TIP:  Response Validation in Google Forms

Google Forms can be a great formative assessment, allowing you to create quick quizzes and see what students know.  However, students don't always know right away what the correct answer is. Using the Response Validation in Google Forms, students can't move on to the next question until they have answered correctly.  Here's how to set this up:

First, create the Google Form.  Then:

BOOK TIP:  American Library Association Youth Media Award Winners 2018

Each winter, the American Library Association announces the best in children's and young adult literature.  If you are looking for a good book to buy for some special young person, this is a great list to find a title.  

American Library Association Full Winner List 2018