Tuesday Tips, September 5, 2023

 TECH TIP:  Grading Categories Added into PowerTeacher

The three grade categories that teachers are being asked to use this year (Habits of Work, Formative and Summative) have been added into PowerTeacher as defaults, so you don't have to add those categories yourself.  You will need to customize the weighting for these categories, however, based on your grading system.

Here are the categories:

BOOK TIP:  Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

  Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano was one of my favorite books of the summer!  It is centered around the question of can love make a broken person whole?   The Padavanos are a happy bustling family of four sisters.  The family takes in Julia's boyfriend, Walter, into their lives and he is overwhelmed to be a part of such a group.  When his past threatens the family, will it break them apart for good?  Beautifully written, I cried.  

Tuesday Tips, October 3, 2023

 TECH TIP:  Google Jamboard alternative: Figjam

It might be a bad memory, but lots of us used Google Jamboard during the days of on-line school.    However, Google recently announced that is shutting down Jamboard as of December 2024.  If you have any Jamboards you want to keep, follow these directions on how to export and save those files.

Figjam is a good alternative to Google Jamboard.   Explore this list of 20 things you can do with Figjam to get some ideas for your class.

BOOK TIP:  The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

   This is an incredible true story of shipwreck, survival and human depravity.  David Grann is also the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, another great work of non-fiction.  In this book, The Wager is a British ship that sets off in 1740 as part of a secret mission during Great Britain's war with Spain.  And once they set sail, if anything could go wrong, it does go wrong.  Most notably, the crew is shipwrecked off the coast of Brazil and this sets off a time of mutiny, murder, and deception.  While a work of historical non-fiction, this reads like a thriller at times.  Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction!

Tuesday Tips: June 7, 2023

 TECH TIP:  HubSpot Email Signature

Tom Roy and I were at a conference last week where we learned about Hubspot Email Signature Generator.  You pick the template style you want, customize with a profile picture, add in your content and media links, and then copy and paste the finished template into your email signature settings.  Here is mine:

BOOK TIP:  New York Times Audio App

Not quite a book, but your free New York Times digital subscription now also includes access to the new NY Times Audio app.   The audio app gives you access to all kinds of audio journalism and storytelling, including podcasts, reporter updates and the archived collection of This American Life.  If you haven't set up your account yet, do so now!

Tuesday Tips, April 4, 2023

In the library's databases, in any of the Gale in Context products, you can limit your search to show you different reading levels based on lexile numbers.  To do this, first do a basic search on your topic, then pick a content type (reference, magazine, newspaper, etc).  Then sort your results by Content Level.

Then your results show these possible content and lexile levels:

Databases are geared for high school, so many of the results will be in the level 3, 4 and 5 range.  For level 1 or level 2, it might be worth searching in the Encyclopedia Britannica and Escolar Britannica in Spanish.

I'm also available to help search out additional readings for your, stop in and let me know what you need!

BOOK TIP:  I Must Betray You by Rita Septys

  I like when I learn something new from a book.  I Must Betray You by Rita Septys is set in Communist Romania in 1989 under the Ceausescu regime.  The regime maintained its power by cultivating fear, paranoia and a citizen spy network.   Neighbors watching neighbors, never knowing who to trust.  Against this backdrop is a 17 young man yearning to be a writer and speak freely.  A powerful, heart wrenching read that makes think how far would you go to protect your family?

Tuesday Tips, March 21, 2023

 TECH TIP:  Free PDP Courses!

Tom Roy and I are again serving as the BHRSD representatives to the county wide tech ed group, Berkshire Resources for Learning Initiative.  There are several free courses for PDP that are available through this group this spring.  

The courses are:

• An Introduction to Culturally Responsive Teaching 
• Berkshire Ed Leader Series
• Introduction to the ISTE Student and Teacher Standards

All details and registration information can be found in this document or see Tom or myself with any questions:

BERK12 Spring 2023 Professional Learning Opportunities

BOOK TIP: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and Jula Whelan is hands down my favorite narrator.  She is also an author and Thanks for Listening is her latest novel, and t's a rom-com about an audiobook narrator (she claims it is not autobiographical, though).  But to really appreciate this book, I recommend doing it as an audiobook with her as the narrator. I learned a lot about the audiobook industry as well.  

Tuesday Tips, March 7, 2023

TECH TIP: QR Code with Screenshots of Website

Want to make your students go to the right website when you give them a QR Code?  If you use QRCodeMonkey to make your QR codes, you can upload an image that will go in the middle of the QR Code.  And if you take a screenshot of the website you are sending them to, you can upload that.  It will show students what the site should look like.  You can also customize the color.  Here's what it would look like (this one goes to the MMRHS Library database page):

To create one, go to QRCodeMonkey, add in the link to the website, change the color scheme and then upload your screenshot.  

BOOK TIP: 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

The premise of this book sounds a bit silly, but this book was SO GOOD.  At 70, after Tova's husband dies, she takes a job as the night cleaner at the aquarium where she befriends an octopus.  It is a remarkable friendship, that might even lead to answers about what happened the night Tova's son drowned. An absolute delight. 

Tuesday Tips: February 14, 2023

 TECH TIP: Gmail Templates

Want to make your emails pop?  Use the built in templates in Gmail.  I made this email using Gmail Templates.  Compose a new email and in the lower task bar, click on the Select Layout button.

Then select which Template you want to use.  You can customize colors, headers and footers and save those to the Default.

BOOK TIP: 

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

This is a fun one, as The House in the Pines is set almost completely in Pittsfield, and mentions all of Pittsfield's "hot spots":  the Berkshire Museum, England Brothers, Silver Lake, North Street, the State Forest, etc.  This book is currently on on the NYTime best sellers list.  Maya's best friend mysteriously dies, causing Maya to return home to Pittsfield to figure out what happened to her.  An unreliable narrator, some mystical realism, and a familiar location, this is a good vacation read!