Flipgrid is now free for educators!!!

Already planning for the fall??? Note that Flipgrid (which I know many of you used the limited free version of this year) is now offering their “paid” version COMPLETELY FREE for all to use.

Put it on your “to do list” of a cool way to engage your kids next year and see me if you have questions!
 See my earlier post about using Flipgrid- I will probably be doing several more posts as I want to encourage my staff to use it!

Read about it here:

https://blog.flipgrid.com/news/bettertogether

EduBreakout Boxes

     The other day, the Science teacher and I did the first try out with the breakout boxes. These boxes have online links to puzzles/ activities/lessons  that require small groups of students to work together to solve problems and unlock the boxes . Each clue reveals more clues to further the result and to get the boxes open to get the solution and the prize!
     The online activities are extremely detailed and also give the teacher step by step instructions to seeing up the boxes. Most have a video that accompanies it to show the process.
     The students really enjoyed the activity. One student told the Science teacher " This is better than gym class!" Students read directions, looked around the room for more clues and worked together to solve the hints and clues, The only trouble we really encountered was resetting the lock at the end of   each period.

Newseumed.org-great site for education!

     Newseumed. org is a partner site of the Newseum Museum in Washington, DC. They offer to teachers and student s free educational programs, primary sources, and resources based on history, information literacy (media literacy) and social studies topics. Also there is online access to front pages, videos, and artifacts in their museum collection. 

   They are committed to offering educational tools that helps develop skills that learners can be knowledge about our countries past and present. 

    The sites provide online resources, and tools that include primary resources and online classes and training. Also they have specially curated collections with primary sources on many educational topics.

   This site can be useful to social studies, ELA, Librarians, and tech teachers.

  https://newseumed.org/

Librarian as a Technology Specialist

  The librarian in the 21st century needs to be also be a technology specialist. In the past we were the keepers of the AV equipment. ( Who remembers those days??)  We were the schedulers / fixers of the movie projector, slide projectors, FS projectors. DVD players, ect.
  Now a days, we may be in charge of the Chrome books, laptops, and I pads that are used by staff and students. But most importantly , we need to step up and be users and instructors in the newest programs and resources,
   This involves using technology to create research projects, using tech to produce lessons, and teaching students how effectively use our sources and cite them.  We also need to help teachers integrate technology in to their lesson,s We can do this by  large group formal staff development  or showing individuals ( or by department) new technologies and new tech tools. So as librarians we need to keep up with the latest  tools and resourcesn.

Librarian as Information Specialist

  The librarian's second most important job is that of Information Specialist. As librarians , we develop our collections according to our curriculum  and teacher/ student needs.  The second part of being an information specialist is identifying and sharing resources that will support teacher created  lessons and project based learning  activities.

  So as librarians we learn our schools curriculum and our teachers lessons , and we build out collections based on these  specifications.  I am constantly speaking with teachers regarding their lessons, and if they need support material to be had in their classrooms. I build project pathfinders ( series of internet sites based on lessons/ information needed  ) that are placed on the library web page. Each time a class does a project, appropriate databases are reviewed

  As librarians, we look for print , streaming videos, databases, reliable websites, and eBooks for students and staff. The addition of electronic resources add to our roles of  information specialist. Resources of online databases and eBooks provide with further information. Instruction on how to access and use goes back to our primary role of teacher..

Commonlit.com

   Commonlit.org is an online library of free literature and Informational texts. Teachers can quickly locate a passage that fits with a lesson for students can read and answer comprehension questions. This can follow with discussion in small or large groups.
      Teachers can select by grade level, genre, literacy device or theme. These are mostly short pieces which comes from classic works, writing that has been  in other publications, and short works that have been donated by authors; Each text has a summary about the author and the piece. There are text dependent questions and also a readability factor to adjust font size.
    Also available are related media, audio and video clips which go along with the text. There are parent guides. For teachers there is the option to create classes and track learners. It seems that this site is full of interesting items that I feel it might be very helpful for teachers.

Using Elink

 I am using Elink for my project pathfinders. I had used Livebinders to do this previously but am at my limit for my free subscription. So I needed to find another way to curate a series of web links for students to put on the library page.

 Elink is a visual collection of web links, I find it very useful when students are researching topics for their projects.  If I know the topics the teachers are having students do investigation’s on , then I will be able to find relevant & accurate  links for them to pull from.

  Students can use the websites in the elink pathfinder  and they will have a quick easy way to find accurate information quickly.

Project Based learning- Why should we use it?

   Project Based Learning is the way most of the world works now. If you think about your life at home, and your life at work , you can see that we go through a variety of tasks and projects throughout each day. Each task requires that you learn new things and acquire new skills as you complete tasks.

   In real life , we don't spend several hours listening as authorities  in their subject area speak on and on. We  start with what we know and then we ask questions  about what we need to complete the task,

  The research shows that PBL is more effective than  the traditional lesson plan model. In Japan, Finland, Sweden and Denmark use this plan and believe it is the best way to learn. ( They score the highest on math and science tests.)

 The PBL teaching and learning approach  takes more time to plan. It also requires collaboration with other teachers.  And  it requires students have a set of skills that work with the process.
   This year, I am going to emphasize the PBL to my staff and hope to work with them to incorporate PBL into their lessons and curriculum, so I will be writing more about this as I do more research on the system.

Project Based Learning

   Shannon talked about Project Based Learning and Project Parades. In Project Based Learning, students are engaged in their own learning. PBL helps the students focus, requires higher order thinking skills, ad encouraged  and encourages partner or group work.  There is a lot of discussion among student, teachers and administrators.

    PBL is learning in which the students produce something useful to share with others. In the process of  creating the project , the student leans the inquiry  ( Scientific ) method, howto gather information and facts, analyzing data, write and record the facts ( produce the project) and then finally present the project.

     PBL emphasizes  creativity,thinking skills, cooperation, collaboration, and communication.

MakerSpaces- Evening Event

    At our Institute we had a "MakerSpaces Petting Zoo". NO there were no pets , but what we did see was 16 different and incredible MakerSpaces Ideas for our students.

     The 3 -D printer was of course the biggie~! They used student friendly tinker cards. The students would have a blast with this. and would the staff.  I think it might be best for older elementary , middle and high school students. /students  create the desired object and then can watch as the printer builds the object.

      The Lego stations of course were popular, This I think would be the most easy and affordable for most schools.  They can be used with students of all ages , as there are three different levels of kits. There are robots to be build and also lego story starters for the younger set.

     The Little bits had  electric  modules that snap together . Students create circuits that have movement, light and sound. To me this looks like a system for middle and high school age students. There are 'patterns'to follow' to show students what they can actually build.

  This is just a sampling of some of the ones that  I think would work for   my building;
   

Summer Institute for Librarians

 Wow- what we packed in for a day and half was amazing!  The most fun of course was the 'Maker Spaces Petting Zoo" and  the  Auctions!  
  The Petting Zoo was so cool!  The Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES  was so cool. We got to see in action and try out some really amazing maker space items: 3d printing,  green screens, Ozobots,  little bits, and dash and dot to name a few.  Would really love to do something like this in our library- even though I am really short on space.
 The Scholarship  Auction was fun!  There were great items donated by some major companies( Perma Bound, Kapco, and even some of the Maker Space companies. Then the regular auction  - there were baskets with some wonderful items that groups put together - those brought in the  big bucks. We had fun bidding- tons of laughS as librarians tried to outbid each other. The most popular were the wine baskets, and the Mo Williams baskets.

Summer Institute for school Librarians

   I am so excited to be getting ready for our NYLA /SSL educational leadership institute! It is this week at Cornell University .( Ithaca, NY) The theme this year is Future Ready Librarians: You Lead the Way! 
   The presenters are Shannon McClintock Miller( The library Voice blog@  http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/ )who is a library mover and shaker. I am sure she will be very inspirational and a motivator   with some new ideas.
   The other presenter is Jim Belair from Monroe.2-Orleans BOCES and an adjunct professor at University of Buffalo.  I am expecting to get some fantastic ideas from this institute. I will share some of the stuff next week in a follow up post.So check back here and see a post or two ob Future REady Librarians, and some ideas on new programs and issues.

Middle School Lessons- Online Card Catalog

 Lesson for Online Card Catalog- Follett Destiny

 "Searching for a Book"


1) Review of Destiny- finding  library page, and where to find card catalog.
2) Discussion of ways to locate / or search the materials in the library.

Vocabulary: online catalog,author, title, subject, series, call numbers,  genres, keywords

 Resources needed:
   ( Students)Computers with internet access . Destiny worksheet
   ( LMS) whiteboard with internet access

Where the lesson takes place: in the library or computer lab

Student completes worksheet.

Middle School Lessons- Library Orientation

 This is a brief outline of what I will do  when school resumes in September for my library orientation so that students will be familiar with the library.

  Orientation & Map
1) Introduction to library, personnel, policies( circulation)
2) "Tour " of Library- Like Vana  since it is so small
3)  Review of Destiny ( Online Card Catalog- shown on whiteboard)
4) Explain  how to do map, and library and card catalog activity

Vocabulary: overdues, circulation, fiction, non-fiction, biography, reference, dewey decimal system, fiction arrangement, genres.

  REsources :Worksheet- 2part- general  & card catalog activity

  Where do the lessons take place?
 Orientation- Library
Completion of map and general sheet- in library
Completion of Card Catalog activity: library or computer lab

Can you share what you do for your orientation? This will work for  grades 5-8.

Middle school Lessons

 I am trying to devise a online curriculum for my 7th and 8th grade students. So I am searching what others have available as lessons and online tutorials.  So Far, I have found a few that look good and will als match up with my student needs.

  What is needed first is an overview of elementary lessons because when the students get to middle school, they forget what they have learned or they do not remember learning the basics ( like online card cat, arrangement, genres, dewey decimal system, ect.)

  Also I want to focus on internet safety, digital citizenship, and evaluation of websites, and also databases.
The reference process is I will do in collaboration with classroom teachers  when they are doing research/ inquiry. This will also include Easy Bib directions .

  As I search I will look for additions and adapt them to my students, This will go on my google classroom  for student use.

Symbaloo- Tech tool

Symbaloo  is an exciting tool to use - either with students or as an organizing tool for much used items It helps you organized the internet so you can find  and share resources!

   You build a webpage by first creating the title and then you can personalize with colors of your choice.You can add new sources- even articles  I think and radio stations. You chose a title , pick a color , and then up load a link I am just learning , but if you haven't seen this  it really is cool. And it is not to hard to learn.

This become a webmix. You can also search in the gallery for other webmixes that have already been done. Theses are very helpful and you can find lots of interesting links that way'

Middle Web- great for Middle school professionals

 https://www.middleweb.com/


   This site called Middleweb is an astonishing collection of informative and interesting articles about middle school teaching for grades 4-8. There are some great articles on good questioning techniques which caught my eye. Also there are articles on teaching strategies, writing, and assignment assessment, Articles on most subjects are covered.

  The site focus is on teaching and learning. There are also news clips  and book reviews. There is also a collection of resources which I want to check out.  An additional newsletter  can be received  by signing up. If you are a middle school person ,teacher , librarian, or administrator you need to check this out,

Teaching with Primary Sources: Historical Photographs

 Teaching with photographs( primary sources) motivates and encourages students to ask good questions and will eventually lead to higher order thinking.  Primary Source photographs inspire students to think about the past an relate it to their life today.

  As educators we need to determine questions about each photograph.  Students will need to study and investigate the photograph to locate information and  think of an answer to a question.
 This  will bring an emphasis on inquiry learning with encourages  learns to observe, analyze,  and form their own ideas on the primary source, This also helps them build knowledge.

More information will follow  about the Library Of Congress website - check this out for Primary Sources useful for American History.

https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Comic creator- on readwritethink

  Comic creator is  on the www.readwritethink site. This is a very easy generator which would work for early elementary students  and those beginning to create comic strips in the classroom. The student type in title of cartoon and subtitle and the authors names.

   Then the student chooses number of panels- this one goes up to 6  with lower options.( 1 to 6) After that creation is just a few clicks away.  the Student can add a caption under each panel,  and characters.  There are speaking balloons in which they can add dialogue.  Props and background can also be added. When the student is finished , they can also be edited or printed.  The only drawback is that the comic can not be saved. But this would still be a good site if you are trying to  begin creating comic strips in your classroom.

What students can do on blogs

 What is the right age to begin blogging? For starters we could ask older  students( 4th and 5th graders) to do some critical thinking and writing  by asking students to find interesting and relevant   to our subjects  websites . We can show them how to write about what is useful about the sites.  They could also write their reactions to what they are reading or doing in the classroom.

  The other thing we can do is to bring primary sources( authors, scientists, politicians) into he blog and have students  ask questions and then reflect on the answers given.

  Middle school students can be asked to become experts about topics they care about. They can  research, share this on class  blogs and take questions from classmates. High school student s can use blogs for extend study or reflection on a topic. They can reflect  and build on previous ideas and knowledge. They can give feedback into class mates, advance new ideas and analyze the topic or subject at hand.

 These are broad ideas on beginning blogging with students  , I would love any ideas about what you do with your students.