Some great programs that will help you with motivating your students to turn your library into a place that they cannot be without:

...and your teachers, too!


 Kahoot
      a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn –...
      Set up account at GetKahoot.com and then build a fun game for you, your students, etc.

Haikudeck
     presentations that inspire. We make telling your story simple, beautiful and fun

Canva
     makes design simple for everyone. Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and so much more.

Screencast-O-Matic
      create and share screen cast recordings

Remind
      a communication tool that helps teachers reach students and parents where they are.

Teach With Movies
     Movie Lesson Plans Based on Films that will Inspire and Motivate Students; 425+ Movie Lesson Plans for High School, Middle School, Elementary and Home ...

Adobe Spark
     the easiest way to create impactful, visual stories that will wow your audience on every device.

Books and Book Trailers

I love reading and want to inspire my high school students to check out more of the great books we have in the high school library. I will be doing book talks to several English classes and hope to share some great book trailers with them.

Tedx Talks on Libraries and the Digital Divide

If you have not found Tedx Talk, it is a great source of information on all types of subjects...and they are free. Many would make great video snippets to share in the classroom to enhance your subject matter.

Of course, my love is libraries and Tedx Talk has a really good, short video about libraries and the Digital Divide.

Get a Read on This: Libraries Bridging the Digital Divide

You can find more Tedx Talks by searching on YouTube.

GoogleApps

Wow! I had no idea that Google had so many branches! If you are looking for some great information about the various components to Google and what to do with those in the classroom, visit

ePortfolios with GoogleApps

Digital Portfolios

I was just introduced to the world of digital portfolios! So many great educational uses and possibilities! What an awesome way for students to build research projects!

Why not try it!

I have been using LiveBinders to put together my own e-Portfolio, but here is a link to 8 educational apps that will help you and your students build portfolios:

8 Educational Apps for Digital Portfolios!

Copyright and Fair Use

I had a teacher ask me a question about using YouTube videos and excerpts of movies in a presentation.

I am aware of the copyright guidelines about the "10 percent or not more than 3 minutes --whichever is less" rule or the 'buy a license to show the video' rule, but have never really found the actual legal stand on copyright that is supported by YouTube.

I tell all my students that everything on the Internet is now considered copyrighted information, pictures, music, songs, etc., and if you did not create it, you do not own it. If you do not own it, you cannot use it without permission.

Searching the web, I found some great information from the Walsh University Library.

Everything on YouTube is copyrighted to the person who created and then uploaded the video. (http://libanswers.walsh.edu/a.php?qid=91329)

As an educator, can you upload a YouTube video into your course content? Yes...as long as you link to the YouTube video or embed it. (http://libanswers.walsh.edu/a.php?qid=144520)

Please remember that it is import to give the proper attribution to any work you use that is not your own. Find out how to cite YouTube videos here.

You can find additional information about using videos that contain copyright materials here.

I hope I have helped make this mountain of information about copyright and movies a little clearer.

Free Audiobooks

Do you love audiobooks? I do!

I use them when driving or working out...especially when I am walking my 4 to 5 miles that I try to work into each day.

I have great news! SYNC is offering 2 FREE audiobooks each week May 15 - Aug 20, 2014! You can go to their website and sign up for text or email alerts and reminders as new titles become available!

What is SYNC?  SYNC is a program that gives away two complete audiobook downloads–a current Young Adult title paired thematically with a Classic or Required Summer Reading title–each week to listeners ages 13+ while SYNC is in session each summer.

Below is the lineup for free titles through out the summer! Get yours starting Thursday, May 15 here!

SYNC Schedule

SUMMER 2014 SYNC TITLE LINEUP
May 15 – May 21
WARP: THE RELUCTANT ASSASSIN by Eoin Colfer, Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield (Listening Library)
THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells, Narrated by Derek Jacobi (Listening Library)
May 22 – May 28
CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge, Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden (Harper Audio)
OEDIPUS THE KING by Sophocles, Performed by Michael Sheen and a full cast (Naxos AudioBooks)
May 29 – June 4
CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Narrated by Emma Galvin (Hachette Audio)
THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE by Agatha Christie, Narrated by Richard E. Grant (Harper Audio)
June 5 – June 11
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill, Narrated by Meredith Mitchell (Tantor Audio)
JULIUS CAESAR by William Shakespeare, Performed by Richard Dreyfuss, JoBeth Williams, Stacy Keach, Kelsey Grammer, and a full cast (L.A. Theatre Works)
June 12 – June 18
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein, Narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell (Bolinda Audio)
THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie Ten Boom, John Sherrill, Elizabeth Sherrill, Narrated by Bernadette Dunne (christianaudio)
June 19 – June 25
I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU by Ally Carter, Narrated by Renée Raudman (Brilliance Audio)
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by L.M. Montgomery, Narrated by Colleen Winton (Post Hypnotic Press)
June 26 – July 2
FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK by Matthew Quick, Narrated by Noah Galvin (Hachette Audio)
OCTOBER MOURNING: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman, Narrated by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Christina Traister (Brilliance Audio)
July 3 – July 9
TORN FROM TROY by Patrick Bowman, Narrated by Gerard Doyle (Post Hypnotic Press)
PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Narrated by Jim Dale (Brilliance Audio)
July 10 – July 16
CLAUDETTE COLVIN: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose, Narrated by Channie Waites (Brilliance Audio)
WHILE THE WORLD WATCHED by Carolyn Maull McKinstry with Denise George, Narrated by Felicia Bullock (Oasis Audio)
July 17 – July 23
THE CASE OF THE CRYPTIC CRINOLINE by Nancy Springer, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Recorded Books)
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES II by Arthur Conan Doyle, Narrated by David Timson (Naxos AudioBooks)
July 24 – July 30
HEADSTRONG by Patrick Link, Performed by Deidrie Henry, Ernie Hudson, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Scott Wolf (L.A. Theatre Works)
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson, Narrated by Scott Brick (Tantor Audio)
July 31 – August 6
DIVIDED WE FALL by Trent Reedy, Narrated by Andrew Eiden (Scholastic Audio)
THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE by Stephen Crane, Narrated by Frank Muller (Recorded Books)
August 7 – August 13
LIVING A LIFE THAT MATTERS by Ben Lesser, Narrated by Jonathan Silverman and Ben Lesser (Remembrance Publishing)
THE SHAWL by Cynthia Ozick, Narrated by Yelena Shmulenson (HighBridge Audio)