Tuesday Tips November 10, 2020

 TECH TIP:  Jeopardy Style Games

We are big Jeopardy! fans in our house and were saddened by the death this week of Alex Trebek.  In honor of him, here are a few Jeopardy! style games you could do with your classes.

• Google Slides Jeopardy template:  Download this template from Slides Carnival and add in your own questions
• PlayFactile:  Set up an online Jeopardy! game at this free site
• Flippity:  Flippity has lots of online games to play.  Here is a demo of this free Jeopardy-style quiz show game and here are the directions on how to set it up

BOOK TIP:  Apeirogon by Colum McCann

I loved Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin and Apeirogon is equally exceptional.   Based on the real life friendship and heartache of two men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, as they work together to build peace in Israel.  The two men share a common grief and use that commonality to fight for a better world for all children.  The story is told through short vignettes, personal, historical, and cultural to tell a story with many nuisances and sides, just like an apeirogon, which is a shape with an infinite amount of sides. 

Tuesday Tips, October 15, 2020

 TECH TIP & BOOK TIP:  eBooks and Audiobooks now available at MMRHS Library!!

To better support remote learning, the library just launched SORA by Overdrive.  This is the platform that allows us to now check out ebooks and audiobooks.  This is in partnership with the MA Library System, and there are over 20,000 titles available for students.  I am building our own personal MMRHS collection here as well, so let me know of titles you'd be interested in.  

Ebooks can be rented in class sets if your department is interested in that.  Contact me for pricing and availability.  There are also over 400 titles of ebooks available for simultaneous use for free through our MA Library System collaboration.  I've attached that list below for your reference.  

You can set up your account using your school email at https://soraapp.com/library/masslibma or by downloading the SORA app on your phone or tablet.  This video tutorial will give you details on creating your account and the interface itself.  

Tuesday Tips, October 6, 2020

 TECH TIP:  Free Feature Films!

Feature Films For Education is continuing its remote access to its service (used to be you could only access here at school).  Check out the full list of over 600 films at Feature Films for Education   During this remote time, there will be a double log-in required and the second log-in password will change every two weeks.  If you need that information, please let me know.  

Here is this week's login information:

Feature Films for Education

https://ffusa.infobase.com/PortalPlayLists.aspx?wid=97151 

Initial log in is with : mmrhs / spartans

Then the secondary log in (and this changes every two weeks and this is good until Monday):  

SECONDARY ACCESS CREDENTIAL:

Username: 000001

Password:  general

BOOK TIP:  The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

   I've always been a huge fan of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series, and Dervla McTiernan's novels are very similar.  The Ruin is book one of the Cormac Reilly detective series.   Reilly is a moody, smart detective who takes you into the dark parts of Ireland.  Atmospheric and literary, if you like a murder mystery with some depth, this series is for you.  

Tuesday Tips March 10, 2020

TECH TIP and BOOK TIP:  Coronavirus Information

In light of the growing concerns about the coronavirus, I've put together this week some reliable sources about the virus itself and its impact on education.

Situation Summary and Overview of the Virus from the CDC

Live Map with Real Time Updates and Data from Johns Hopkins University (screenshot below was taken at 9:47 AM)

Open Source Spreadsheet of Colleges and Universities that have closed put together by Bryan Alexander of Georgetown University

Map and List of Public Schools Closed due to coronavirus compiled by Education Week

RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ONLINE DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSURES

Edublogger has done a thorough overview of moving classes online it includes checklists, how to structure the day, and tips on teaching

Tips for Designing an Online Lesson

Google Blog shares many ways in which the Google Suite of products can support online learning

Tuesday Tips March 3, 2020

TECH TIP:  Feature Films for Education Now Fully Available

I have purchased a subscription to Feature Films for Education.  This allows you to show any of these movies in your classroom for free!  It is tied to our IP address, so it will only work here at school.  But students could also log in and watch any films during a study hall if you needed them to watch or catch up after being out.  Here is how to log in:

Feature Films for Education
https://ffusa.infobase.com/PortalPlayLists.aspx?wid=97151 

Stop by the library to get the log in information

BOOK TIP:  American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

 American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is the fictionalized story of a Mexican mother and her son whose whole family is killed by a cartel and they must flee to the United States.  Oprah Winfrey selected this book as her current book club pick.  However, once the title was announced, there was immediate controversy and charges made of cultural appropriation as the other is not Mexican and some felt she "white washed" the migrant experience.  The book has increased cries for diverse authors and discussions of who gets to tell these stories.  I've read it, and would love to hear others' thoughts on this book.  It's worth a read just to see what the controversy is all about. 

Tuesday Tips February 25, 2020

TECH TIP:  Ken Burns in the Classroom on PBS Learning

Ken Burns has been creating historical documentary films for over 40 years.  His films pull together primary sources, archival footage and interviews.  These are great resources for the classroom.  However, they are often long.  At PBS Learning, they have created lesson plans and pulled video clips from his films to support learning in your classroom.  You can search for things by Era or by Film.

And you can find items by video clip or lesson plans

BOOK TIP:  New Books Delivered Today!

Over 60 new books were delivered today!  Can't wait to explore them.  I love to talk books with your classes.  I can create a book talk to go with any of your needs.  And maybe one of these new books will be in there!

Tuesday Tips February 11, 2020

TECH TIP:  2nd Quarter Report Using Texting Story

Texting Story is an app I wrote about here before.  I used it to create the 2nd Quarter Report for the library.  This was very easy to use and could be a great project option for students.  It is a 40 second video, watch it here:

2nd Quarter Report Author: Kara Staunton-Shron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4gkkVM38GA

BOOK TIP:  Life and Death Booktalk

Last week, I gave a book talk to the Life & Death class on books that inspire.  Here are the books I shared with them. Ones that are highlighted were the ones students checked out.  

• The Thank You Project: Cultivating Gratitude One Letter at a Time
• Educated: A Memoir
• One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Day in America
• Internment
• When I Was the Greatest
• Every Moment After
• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
• Shooting Stars: The Story of Lebron James
• A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time
• My Story: Elizabeth Smart
• We Say #neveragain
• The 57 Bus
• Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
• The Other Side: Stories of Central American Teen Refugees Who Dream of Crossing the Border
• In the Country We Love: A Family Divided
• Shout: A Poetry Memoir
• Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
• Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds