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)

Box of Tricks

Each time I find a new site or read about a new idea for incorporating technology into the classroom, I think 'Wow! How cool is that?'

I also tend to think what could possibly be next!

Well, I have found the next thing: Box of Tricks

Check out this site for some fantastic ideas when you are planning your next lesson!

LibGuides

Need a place to organize everything?

Try setting up an account in LibGuides.

There is a fee, though, so you might give LiveBinders a try. It is a very similar organization tool and at this time it is free!

A great example and it also has lots of information that will help make your technology experience in the classroom so much better is here: Joyce Valenza LibGuides!

I am amazed at the amount of great information that can be found here!

Check it out!

Tweeting

Are you an avid 'tweeter?'

I need to utilize Twitter more than I am currently doing.

I ran across some information about a great site--Tweeted Times--through an awesome library blogger, The Unpretentious Librarian. What a great find! ...both the site and the information about Tweeted Times. To read more of her post, click here.

Essentially, this site is a real-time personal newspaper produced from tweets that are on your Twitter account. It is rebuilt every hour and is compiled with the most popular tweets within your account.

This would be great to use in the classroom with kids by setting up a classroom Twitter account and linking your students in. Of course, there would need to be guidelines set as to appropriate posts and keeping your tweets on task to the assignment, but what a fun way to share information or use as a review tool in your classroom in preparation for those upcoming benchmarks, end of course and semester exams!

I hope your holidays are merry and bright!

Happy Holidays

The school year seems to be zipping past us and there are so many technology ideas that I still want to work through the library this year.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Shout out to Naomi Bates...an amazing techie librarian! I am not sure how she gets everything done that she does: book reviews, book trailers, tech advice, app information...and the list goes on!

She posted this on LinkedIn and I just needed to share it!

Integrating iPad Apps Into High School Content.

This is set up in LiveBinders and if you have never used them, they are a great way to organize your 'stuff!'

The apps are divided by subject content. Click away and enjoy!

I hope you will find ones that work for your area!

Oh, yes....Naomi can be found here: Naomi at ScoopIt, Naomi at Google+, Naomi's Blog and Naomi at LinkedIn.

eBooks

eBooks have recently become my passion. I honestly never thought that I would like reading books on a device. I wanted to 'feel' that paper when I turned each page...I wanted the weight of the book in my hands.

Well.......I have definitely changed my way of thinking about reading! I love borrowing books from The Tom Green Public Library out of San Angelo and from the Houston Public Library. If you want to know how to do this from central Texas, just let me know and I will be glad to send you the step-by-step instructions.

I also follow two websites, each of who send me a daily email on free and bargain ebooks of the day. They are BookBub and Digital Book Spot.

I just ran across this on Pinterest: http://www.livingfrugaltips.com/finance-and-tech/17-best-websites-to-download-free-ebooks/

I am definitely going to have to check it out!!!!

Great Library Blogs

I am always excited when I find great library blogs because libraries are my passion!

Here are some great blogs to follow:

Ms O Reads Books

Naomi Bates

Pamela Thompson

Redhead Resourceress

Top 25 Librarian Bloggers

Biblia, the Warrior Librarian

Mundie Moms 

The UnPretentious Librarian

If you find others, please share by commenting below!

Pinners to Follow

If you are interested in educational pins, the best way to get started is by following some trusted 'educational' pinners. Once your home feed starts populating educational feeds, it is easy to find other pinners with the same interests.

Listed below are some great pinners to start your educational pinning:

Deb Henkes - http://pinterest.com/dhenkes/

Indiana eLearning - http://pinterest.com/INelearn/

Theresa Cullen - http://pinterest.com/theresaacullen/

Jon Samuelson - http://pinterest.com/ipadsammy/

Eric Sheninger - http://pinterest.com/esheninger/

and, of course, me!! LOL!!

Pam McGhee -  http://pinterest.com/DigitalDiva201/

For all you librarians out there...I just found a great pinner:
Zelia Carson -  http://pinterest.com/zmcarlson/


Want to add even more great pinners? Who are the people above following? Click on their "Following" tab to see if you want to add those to your following list.

Have you found a really great board or pin or pinner? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Remember: You don't have to follow every board of each person you follow!

Happy Pinning!!

So Many Apps

It seems like every workshop or conference that I go to, someone has 3 or 4 apps for the iPad and/or Android platform that they just can't live without.

This past June, Connie and I and another friend, Carol, were able to attend an amazing technology conference in San Antonio: ISTE, 2013! If you ever get the chance to go, it is worth every penny!

We had some awesome sessions. In this post I will share a few apps and how to use them in the classroom. Watch for a later post that will share some great websites and other technology tools for your classroom!

Dropbox - First 2 GB free. Sometimes your phone provider will have more available for free when renewing your phone contract. Access and share your photos, docs and videos from any device.

CloudOn - brings Microsoft Office to your iPhone and iPad and links it to Dropbox, GoogleDrive, Box, SkyDrive. Free version and a purchased version. Use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point on your iPhone and iPad to create, review and edit documents.

lino it - online stickie service that offers stickies and canvases. You can post, see and peel off stickies on canvases. Post memos, pictures and videos you take with your iPhone, an even files as stickies on a canvas. Set due dates on your stickies and receive a an Email reminder on the morning of the due date. Stickies with due dates can be viewed in Google Calendar or Outlook.
     Classroom use:
          Make a bulletin board for students
          Students can post reminders for homework, projects, etc.
          Post questions to review
          Put on links for students to access
          Assign projects with directions - great for research projects
          Post a question, students post a response...then have students go back a few days later and responds to someone's post
           Post a short video clip and ask students to watch and post a response
           Build a collage of historical photos, students caption them, why important
           Post a picture and ask student to identify
           Write one word that describes a literary or historical character and an example of when that one word description was evident
           Students can post short book reviews/teasers
           Use this with teachers: have them post ideas, reviews, etc for iPad apps, books, videos, etc.

Class Dojo - great online and iPad app for classroom management
         

Pinterest Basics

Pinterest

What is Pinterest?
     Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things that inspire you…kind of like an online bulletin board or scrapbook.

Why Pinterest?
     Organization
     New Ideas
     Tips, Tricks, Shortcuts
     Lesson Plans
     Collaboration

Pinterest Bascis
    Account – You must have one. Think about what you would like your Pin Pseudonym (name) to be. You can also use your current Facebook or Twitter
accounts.
     Pin - A pin starts with an image or video you add to Pinterest. Any pin on Pinterest can be repinned, and all pins link back to their source.
     Board –a place you organize your pins by topic. You could pin ideas for remodeling your bathroom to your House Projects board, for example.

Boards can be secret or public, and you can invite other people to pin with you on any of your boards.

How to
     How to create a board -  There are basically two ways to pin. If you are viewing your boards, simply click the ‘+’ sign above the words ‘Create a board.’ If you are actually on a pin (you clicked the PinIt button) and have found that you really don’t have a board that works with that pin, simply click on the pulldown menu and then choose  
     How do I pin? – It’s easy. If you are in Pinterest, you can add a pin from a website using the Pin It bookmarklet or upload an image right from your computer. If you are in your Home Feed on Pinterest, simply scroll over the picture you want to pin. Locate the red ‘PinIt’ button and click on it. From the pulldown menu, choose your board, add a comment and click ‘PinIt’ again.

Organizing
     Boards - Think of names that you can remember. Some pinners are quite creative with their board names. Others use very basic names.  Group them…alphabetically…subject…color?
     Home Feed -  Access your home feed by clicking on the word “Pinterest” that is located at the top of the browser page.
     Following – Follow an entire pinner or choose specific boards to follow.

Collaborating  
     You can allow others to pin to one or more of your boards and let them contribute ideas, information, opinion.

Public Boards – unless you designate your board as secret, each board will be public.

Secret Boards – only you and those you invite can see these boards and any content and comments connected to them.

Mobile apps – are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Pinterest has a blog! - http://blog.pinterest.com/

Pinterest Etiquette

Pinterest Etiquette

Be a good Pinterest citizen:
     Don’t just randomly pin. Look at the pin first and make sure it really exists and is appropriate.
     Change the description. Make it notable.
     Pin from the outside. Add more content into the community.
     Re-comment if you try it.

Be kind & respectful. There are real people on the other end of your comments
Be Yourself. Pinning things that interest you or express who you really are is more important than having lots of
     followers.
Give credit. If you pin someone else’s idea, give them credit.
Stay alert. If you see inappropriate content, report it back to Pinterest.
Pinterest is growing and changing. Let them know what works and what doesn’t or if you have an idea that might
     make Pinterest better.

Pinterest for Teachers and Students

The more I explore Pinterest for educational purposes, the more I am fascinated by all of the amazing, creative material that I find...and so much of it is free!

You can collaborate with other teachers, share boards, share ideas, develop lesson plans and so much more!

Check out this website by Wendy Piersall. She developed the Classroom Jr website and has filled it with so many teaching resources--information, ideas, crafts, etc., all for the classroom teacher.

Wait! But what about your students? Visit The Woo! Jr and The Woo! Jr Pinterest boards to involve your students in that creative journey!

Student Created eBooks

I just read an awesome blog entry about students creating their own ebooks. 1st through 5th grade students authored their own ebooks!

Once the books met a specific criteria, the school librarian cataloged those books into the school's online catalog so that they were available for other student and teachers to read! How awesome is that?

Students used an app called Book Creator and had to research their information.

If this sounds like a project that you are interested in, visit this site for more detailed information:
part 1:
http://www.follettsoftware.com/LibraryConnections/archives.cfm/date/2013/7

part 2:
http://www.follettsoftware.com/LibraryConnections/archives.cfm/date/2013/8

Samples of 1st grade authored ebooks:
http://blog.springfield.k12.or.us/weslibrary/mrs-pattersons-ebooks-2/

Criteria for creating an ebook for the library collection:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_ysUQ7z-O38q87IFlqiNyZ5a-pUYiLEqzniZbKzLW9o/edit