Tuesday Tips: April 7

TECH TIP:  Tagxedo Word Cloud Creator

Tagxedo creates word clouds out of text that you either copy in or take from a website by adding in the URL.  It groups together words and, based on the number of times it is used, makes certain words larger.  A good tool for students to analyze text from a novel, a news story, a speech, etc.  

You can customize your clouds with different shapes and colors.  Allows you to save your cloud as a JPG file.  

Here is an example one that I made using the feedback from the IP faculty conversation.  You can see the words that came up repeatedly are larger.   

BOOK TIP:  Books about WORDS

Since the Tech Tip had to do with words, here are three books on words.

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon.   In this dystopian novel, the death of print has come.  We are all reliant on our tech devices to share our thoughts and words.  The editor of the final edition of the print dictionary goes missing, and so begins the suspenseful chase to find out what happened to him.  A thrilling, cautionary tale of the reliance on technology.

There's a Word For It by Sol Steinmetz.  Organized by decade, this book looks at the explosion of language in new words since 1900.  Those of my age, think "boom box" and "break dancing".  Fun to peruse. 

Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno.  A grammar lovers book.  This book helps you to select the perfect word every time and how to avoid common word mistakes, like confusing word pairs (capital or capitol?)  and common mis-speaks ("escape goat" "by the power invested in me").  Little quizzes included too!

Tuesday Tips March 31, 2015

TECH TIP:  Snapguide

Snapguide is a free web based and iPad app that allows you to easily create how-to, step-by-step instructional guides using photos you upload from your phone. This could be another good way to leverage the device that they all have: their phone.  Make how-to guides for how to change a tire, how to light a bunsen burner, how to complete a math problem, how to garnish your food, etc.  

BOOK TIP:  Struck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Genius by Jason Padgett

Jason Padgett had a hard time passing pre-algebra in high school.  A violent mugging left him with a brain injury, but also "acquired savant syndrome with mathematical synthesia".  He is now a mathematical genius and has an amazing ability to draw geometric shapes and patterns he sees in ordinary things like water out of the drain.  Some of this artwork is in the book.  An amazing journey. 

Tuesday Tips March 24, 2015

TECH TIP:  The Digital Vaults at the National Archives

 The Digital Vaults at the National Archives are a treasure trove of American artifacts.  You can find images, documents, letters and other primary sources.  They have a description of each item.  You can search by keyword and then add any items into your own personal collection.  You can complete Pathways challenges, where you get hints and clues to figure out certain questions.  

Of particular interest, might be the CREATE link on the bottom.  Here students can create a poster or a movie using the items they have searched and collated at the Digital Vaults.  

BOOK TIP:  A Rich Spot of Earth:  Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J. Hatch

To go along with the Digital Vaults, a beautiful book, rich in images and history, that looks at one of the Founding Fathers' home and gardens.  At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, historians have recreated the vegetable gardens to be just like they were in Jefferson's time.  The pictures and illustrations are gorgeous in this book.  

Tuesday Tip: March 17, 2015

TECH TIP:  Move It Chrome Extension

Spend too much time at your computer?  Move It is a Chrome extension that will get you up and moving.  Add the extension to your Google Chrome tool bar, set the timer interval, and after you've been sitting at your computer for that amount of time, you will get a random physical movement to do or a brain game to complete.  

BOOK TIP:  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Tartt won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for this epic book about Theo Decker, an orphan who comes to have in his possession a valuable piece of art, The Goldfinch.  Theo's life revolves around this artwork.  The book is like a Dickens novel: sweeping, detailed, quirky characters, rags to riches, intrigue.  It has it all.  Not for the faint of heart, as it is a big book requiring some focus.  However, it is one that you will think about long after it is over.  

Tuesday Tip: March 3, 2015

TECH TIP:  Pic Collage 

A way to harness the phone that every student has in their pocket is to have them take pictures (of geometric shapes, patterns, them acting out a scene in a book, posing as an historical character, etc).  They can collate those pictures into a collage through the free app Pic Collage.  

Here is one of fun faculty shots:

BOOK TIP:  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

This book recently took home the Printz Award, which is the American Library Association's award for a young adult novel of literary excellence.  It is the story of fraternal twins who are torn apart by some unknown rift.  The early chapters are told through the eyes of one twin, the later chapters (and years) told by the other.  A well written, and captivating, coming-of-age story.

Tuesday Tip: March 10, 2015

TECH TIP:  Recite This

Looking for a quick way to decorate your classroom with inspirational quotes?  Or perhaps have students create these with quotes from books, historical tips, math concepts, etc.  Recite This is a website that requires no registration, you just type in your content, select the theme, and hit download to save your image.  

Here's an example:

BOOK TIP:  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

This is the fictional account of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh.  An insightful look at being married to the huge celebrity Charles Lindbergh, the loss of her son in such a public kidnapping, and her husband's connection to Nazism.  

Tuesday Tip: February 24, 2015

TECH TIP:  Smore Online Newsletter Creator

Looking for creative ways to keep in touch with students and parents?  Smoreis a free, online newsletter creator.  With the free account, you get 200 emails a month.  It also keeps track of statistics so you can see how many viewed your newsletter.  

I used this program to create my 2nd Quarter Report for the library and emailed it to all of you so can see what it looks like "in action".  

BOOK TIP:  Superhero Books

In honor of Birdman, the story of an actor who played an iconic superhero, winning the Oscar for Best Film, a few books about superheroes.  Both of which are available at the library.

 Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan  by Rick Bowers.  This is an informative and intriguing look at the 1947 Superman radio show when the producers decided that the Man of Steel should take on racism by defeating the Ku Klux Klan.  

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore.  William Marston was the creator of Wonder Woman, and he was inspired by the early feminists and suffragists.  These women are intrinsically tied into the character Wonder Woman.