Tuesday Tips October 25, 2016

TECH TIP:  ToonyTool

ToonyTool is a quick and easy way to create cartoon images.  You select the background, either from their stock images or from your own upload, then you can layer on text, meme fonts, cartoon characters and props.  You can then download the image or email it to yourself.  No need to register or sign up for anything.  This could be a quick way to have students make posters, flyers, practice vocabulary, etc.  

I found this tip at the blog Free Tech for Teachers

BOOK TIP: Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff

This is a powerful memoir of a young man's descent into addiction to meth and heroin.  In a no-holds barred approach, Nic Sheff details his relapse at 20 and his struggle to understand why he needs to use drugs.  I was shocked at times at his actions and how far he was willing to go to maintain a high, but the novel provides insight and understanding into the mind of an addict.  Interestingly, Sheff's father also wrote a memoir around the same time called Beautiful Boy about the parental perspective on his son's addiction and rehab.  

Tuesday Tips October 18, 2016

TECH TIP:  National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day

Yesterday, October 17 was National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day.  In honor of that, here are some instructions and inspirations on how to get your desktop from this:  

  to this:  

 

You create a background image with sections for all the types of files and programs you use most (I used Canva to do mine but the instructions use Picmonkey, both good photo editors).  Once your image is up, you move the icons into the proper section for them.  This is also a good time to go through all those files on your desktop and get rid of those you no longer need.  

Here are the instructions and inspiration I followed (and there is a good video tutorial on how to do it):  

http://iheartplanners.com/2015/03/13/organize-computer-desktop/#_a5y_p=3496463
http://www.thebudgetslp.com/2013/08/create-organized-desktop.html

BOOK TIP:  Berkshire Books

1973 Monument Mountain graduate, Margaret "Peggy" Dempsey, passed away last March.  She was a librarian and enjoyed local history.  A donation was made to the Monument Mountain library in her memory.  With that donation, six titles about the Berkshires were added to our collection.  The titles include:

• Hawthorne's Lenox: Tanglewood Circle by Cornelia Brooke Gilder
• Best Easy Day Hikes of the Berkshires by Jim Bradley
• The Finest Hours:  The True Story of the US Coast Guard Most Daring Rescue by Michael J. Touglas
• Shay's Rebellion: The American Revolution's Final Battle by Leonard L. Richards
• The Big E by David Cecchi
• The Unfolding Berkshires by David J. McLaughlin
• Inside the Berkshires: Sixteen Journeys of Discovery by David J. McLaughlin

Tuesday Tips October 11, 2016

TECH TIP:  Padlet

Padlet is a website that allows you to collect feedback from students.  It is also a place that students could collaborate on a project or gather ideas and resources together.  You create the Padlet (think of it like a wall), post the topic at the top, then give the link to students.  They simply double click on the Padlet and then create their post.  The post could be text, an image, an attachment, or a link to a website.  A great way to do exit tickets with students.

BOOK TIP:  The National Book Award Winners

The National Book Award Finalists were just announced this week.  A wonderful list of titles,all worth adding to your reading list!  Check out all the nominees here:  

http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2016.html

Tuesday Tips October 4, 2016

TECH TIP:  AnswerGarden Feedback Tool

AnswerGardenis a very easy to use online feedback tool.  At AnswerGarden, you click on the + sign to create your poll and post your question.  You can adjust the settings to what format you would like, and the poll can be open or moderated by you.  Students then get the URL to the poll, or a QR code is automatically created that you can post and students scan.  Their responses then show up in a word cloud format and the more times a response shows up, the bigger the font is.  Could be a great way to get quick feedback or input.  

Found this tip at the Never Ending Search blog.

BOOK TIP:  The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

If I'm honest, I didn't expect to like this book, but I couldn't put it down.  It is about vampires after all, but it's mostly about survival as an outcast in world dominated by those who are fundamentally different from you.  Gene is a human pretending to be a vampire in order to survive a futuristic world where vampires are dominant.  When he is invited to be a part of a hunt to track what are believed to be the last remaining humans, Gene must learn the art of the hunt and how to avoid suspicion himself.  Book one of a trilogy. 

Tuesday Tips September 27, 2016

TECH TIP:  Election Debate Resources

In honor of last nights first presidential debate, here are two great resources for your classes about presidential debates.

 PBS Learning has a wonderful collection of election resources, including an interactive map that shows you where the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are each day.  And if you are looking to do a debate in your classroom (on any topic), there is a Classroom Debate download which guides you on how to run a successful classroom debate.  (Side note: I love hosting class debates in the library!)

TheWashington Post also has an interactive debate site, where you pick the issues that the two candidates will be debating.  You then click on the candidate's picture and it shows you video clips of the candidate talking about that issue.  Could be a great way to show students how the candidate's stand on specific issues. 

BOOK TIP:  Clinton and Trump books

Two books in the MMRHS Library on the two candidates:

Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America by Donald J. Trump is the book where Trump lays out his vision for fixing America's economy, military, and education system.  Hard Choices, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, is Clinton's memoir of the choices and challenges she has faced in her life, particularly during her tenure as Secretary of State. 

Tuesday Tips September 20, 2016

TECH TIP:  Words With Friends EDU Edition

I've long been a Words With Friends fan (you can play me at Librarylady159), but now there is a classroom edition of Words with Friends.  As a teacher, you set up your account, then set up a classroom.  Give that classroom code to your students, and they play against each other in that closed class environment.  There are Power Words that earn bonus points, a built in dictionary to look up words they don't know, and there are even lesson plans on the site.   On the teacher dashboard, you see who has played and how many points and badges they've earned.  Could be a fun classroom game or extra credit opportunity!

BOOK TIP:  The Secret Lies by Megan Miranda

A fast paced suspense and survival thriller.  Kelsey's mom was kidnapped as a teenager and after escaping, goes on to build a house that is a fortress.  A house she never leaves.  So when Kelsey comes home and her mom is gone, she knows something is really wrong.  But maybe the "fortress" was more about keeping people out rather than keeping her in.  

Tuesday Tips September 13, 2016

TECH TIP:  Vizia Video Quiz Creator

Vizia is a great tool for making YouTube videos interactive and allows you to ask questions and get feedback from students as they watch videos for your class.  With Vizia, you paste in the URL for the YouTube video, and then you select points along the video timeline to add in questions (can be multiple choice or short response).  You then share the link to this Vizia video with the students and when they watch it, the video actually stops on the points you've set up and they must answer the question.  All of their responses are then put into a Google Spreadsheet in your account, where you can see all their responses.  You can set it up so they have to log in with an email.  

Click here to see the example one I set up using a library video.  You'll get a sense of how this works AND I'll give a prize to those who complete the quiz!  http://vizia.co/videos/a8e0aa755901529f678d98/share

I found this tip at FreeTech4Teachers:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/08/how-to-create-video-quizzes-on-vizia.html

BOOK TIP:  The Fireman by Joe Hill

This was a great science fiction book with a dystopian twist.  A terrible plague has taken over the world, where you burst into flames.  There is a small underground group, led by the Fireman, looking to save the world and control those who burn.  An especially good read for fans of The Walking Dead or Robin Cook books.