Tuesday Tips October 15, 2019

TECH TIP:  RemoveBG for Removing Picture Backgrounds

Looking for a way to have students insert themselves into historical scenes or perhaps a scene from a book?  Have them take photos of themselves (preferably against a plain background), then they upload those photos to RemoveBG and the background is removed, the image is saved a PNG.  They can then overlay that image onto whatever backdrop they select.  

I used this with this year's Banned Books Week bulletin board display.

The final product:

BOOK TIP:  National Book Award Finalists Announced

On November 20th, the National Book Foundation will announce its winners of the National Book Award, a prestigious award that celebrates the best of American literature in five categories:  Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Translated Literature and Young People's Literature.  The finalists in each of these categories was just announced.  I use these lists to get inspiration for my own reading or to plan purchases for here.  Check it out!

Tuesday Tips October 8, 2019

TECH TIP:  QR Code Generator 

 

Horticulture students were in the library this week creating informational sheets about all the trees on campus.  I worked with them on then creating a QR code for these sheets.  The QR code will get affixed to the trees around campus and anyone can then scan them and learn about the tree.  

We used QR Code Generator, where you simply copy in the URL to your document and it creates the QR Code for you, which you can save or copy.  

But the best is that through just the camera on your phone, you can scan the QR code and it will take you right to the link!  No need for a special QR reader app.  The students love this part!  Try it out:

BOOK TIP:  Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

  A wonderful young adult novel about what it means to be a family.  Joaquin, Grace and Maya all share the same biological mother, but all were adopted or fostered to different families.  In fact, they didn't even know they had siblings until they were in their teens.  These three form a bond as they search for their biological mother and learn about family: the one you're born into and the one you create.  Well written, great characters.

Tuesday Tips October 1, 2019

TECH TIP:  TimelineJS

I worked with Brian Leslie's 9th Social Studies class on their WWI projects this week.  One of the options I gave to them was to create a timeline using the timeline creator TimelineJS.

There's a bit of a learning curve to this program and it is worth taking the time to watch the tutorial video on how to use it.  Essentially, though, you fill out a Google Sheet template you download from the site, and fill it with your information, dates, images, or video links.  You then upload that Google Sheet to the site and they will produce your timeline.  You can then either embed the timeline on a website or you are given a link to share.  Here are a couple examples of the timeline:

• http://world.time.com/2013/12/05/nelson-mandelas-extraordinary-life-an-interactive-timeline/
• https://timeline.knightlab.com/examples/houston/index.html

BOOK TIP: The Need by Helen Phillips

  Speculative fiction (fiction that contains elements that are not of the natural world, whether it be supernatural, science fiction, etc.) is not my usual genre, but this book was recommended, so I gave it a shot.   Molly is the main character and she is mother to two young children and works as a paleobotanist when she begins to hear and see things.....and I'll leave it at that because it really is a book best gone into blind and is one you will either love or hate.   It is a book I keep thinking about and don't understand the ending, so I need to talk with someone about it!  

Tuesday Tips from the Library

TECH TIP:  NoodleTools Log-In with School Google Account

Students can now quickly and easily log-in to NoodleTools through their school Gmail account.  NoodleTools makes Works Cited pages and can assist in other ways with your research projects.  

Here's how to access using Google:

I'm happy to work with classes on using NoodleTools or the initial account set-up.  If you already had an account set up, there is an additional step to take to connect that account with your school account.  

BOOK TIP:  American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

Marie Mitchell is an FBI analyst in the 1980's.  She is sent undercover to Burkina Faso to assist the US in the overthrow of the Communist president there.  However, she becomes too embroiled and enamored with Thomas Sankara and it changes everyone's lives.  A classic spy thriller of sorts, one based on the true events in Burkina Faso and the overthrow of "Africa's Che Guevara".  

Every summer, former President Obama shares his summer reading list and this was on his list this summer.  

Tuesday Tips September 17, 2019

TECH TIP:  A Page For Your Class on the Library Website 

I worked this week with Dallas Speranzo's classes on a project they will be working on throughout the year related to a local farm.  First step in their research process was to identify a farm.  I created a webpage of resources for them through the library website.  This is something I can do for your classes as well, curate resources specific to the project requirements and assist you in teaching the lesson.   The students were fully engaged in finding their farm to research!

BOOK TIP:  The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

  This was another one of my favorite reads of the summer.  Sisters Edith and Helen are divided after their father leaves the family farm solely to Helen.  Helen goes on to make money by brewing beer, a field dominated by men.  While Edith struggles financially to make ends meet, she does make award winning pies and it is through her hard work that she is able to provide for her family.   This novel is a love letter to Minnesota values, family connections, and finding success in a world that constantly puts you down.  I'd also recommend the author's other book  Kitchens of the Great Midwest.

Tuesday Tips September 10, 2019

TECH TIP:  The 1619 Project

 

 A few weeks back, The New York Times Magazine had a whole issue devoted to their journalistic feature called The 1619 Project.  The 1619 Project honors the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first African slave ships in the United States.  Through a series of essays, poems, and other stories, The 1619 Project examines the impact of slavery on American culture, politics, art and society.  It is incredibly powerful and the journalistic coverage is impressive.  They also have partnered with the Pulitzer Center to provide lesson plans and curricular resources to teachers to use this in their classroom.

This is the interactive site where you can click into the many stories.    

This link will take you to a PDF of the full New York Times Magazines

This will take you to the lesson plans and curricular resources

BOOK TIP:  Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

  Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of the famous book, Speak, which some of our students read in their English classes.  Speak is the story of a young woman who is sexually assaulted and stops speaking.  In Shout, Laurie Halse Anderson tells the story of her own sexual assault that inspired Speak.  It is written in verse, a poetic ode to her own survival and a call to action to help those who have also survived a sexual assault.  

Tuesday Tips September 3, 2019

TECH TIP:  Google Forms as an Exit Ticket

Google Forms are part of your G Suite and are a great way to create an exit ticket or to use as a formative assessment.  New improvements to Google Forms allows you to now add in images or YouTube videos.  Here's how you do that:

DOUBLE TECH TIP:  Project a QR code of a link to your form and have students simply scan the QR code with their phone to access the form and they complete the exit ticket on their phone.

BOOK TIP:  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

 I read a TON this summer.  This was by far my favorite book of the summer.  Set against the historical background of the 1980's (I can't believe I'm that old that the 1980's is historical now....) and the AIDS crisis in Chicago.  The novel follows Yale Tishman as AIDS ravages his friends, his family, his relationships.  It is thoughtful and heart breaking, yet ultimately uplifting.  It's earned all kinds of literary accolades.  It's wonderful!