Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Nooks are circulating!

A few students have seen me working with the Nooks lately and are very excited to check them out!  A couple are already checked out to kids.  Click here to see an up-to-date list of the titles currently downloaded to the Nooks. Please note that while only two Nook are listed on the attached list, we do have 12 total available.  Since six Nooks are linked to each account, "Nook 1" represents the first six Nooks while "Nook 2" represents the other six. 

Before checking out a Nook, students must have a permission slip on file signed by a parent.  Students should see me to obtain a permission slip.  The permission slip lets parents know about the loan and ensures that the students understand proper care of the Nook while in their possession. 

I will keep updating the list as new books are downloaded.  You can find a link to the list on the MSIS website by going to Library Media Center- Nook ereaders.

Please let me know if there are any specific titles that you would like added to the Nooks. 

Monday, October 17, 2011

Be Funky with your Pictures

Be Funky is a super fun photo editing tool that lets users turn their photos into fun artsy creations.  After uploading a photo, you can add featured effects such as "grunge," "patriotic," or "old time photo."  Be Funky also has functional photo editing tools such as cropping, resizing, and changing the brightness.  Here's an example of a photo that I edited using the "pop art" effect.


Just imagine all of the fun things that you could do in the classroom!

What do you do with your time?

Don't we all wonder some days (or most days when you work in education) where all of the time went?  How exactly did we spend our time?  Did we accomplish all of the goals that we created for ourselves that day?  There is a fun online tool that will help you keep track of your time and what you do with it.  When you sign-up for a free account at iDoneThis, you will receive an email every evening where you will record your activities from that day.  iDoneThis will then create your virtual diary of everything you do.  What a great motivator for the days when we just don't feel like doing anything.  Maybe this could even help some students who need a little help keeping track of their days.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Edmodo: Free Educational Social Networking Tool

One of my favorite learning tools is Edmodo (www.edmodo.com).  Edmodo is a free, secure, educational social networking tool that works almost like a virtual classroom.  Once teachers sign-up for a free account, they are able to add different "groups" of students who can then message other group members through Edmodo.  Edmodo also lets teachers upload assignments for students to access any time and any place.  Students turn in assignments directly through Edmodo, allowing for paperless interactions. 

How can Edmodo work for you?  Here are ways that it has already been used at our school:
  • Create a hybrid learning environment where your classroom content is also available online.
  • Use it for small group discussions.  (This has worked very well for lit circle book groups).
  • Remind your class about important events.
  • Have a whole class discussion on a specific topic.
  • Post links to relevant class websites for students to explore.
  • Have students open, complete, and turn-in assignments without the need for any paper.
  • Engage students in learning materials outside of school.  (Lit Masters met virtually throughout the summer via Edmodo).  
The students absolute LOVE using Edmodo.  It's also a great tool for engaging those introverted students who are reluctant to talk face-to-face.  I was amazed at how many students were using it after school and on the weekends.  Using Edmodo can really keep the learning going outside of our classroom walls.

Glogster Changes

For those of you who regularly use Glogster with your students, I have some bad news: Glogster's educator version (edu.glogster.com)  is no longer free.  To my surprise when I attempted to log in and teach a lesson this week, I was prompted to choose a service level and pay the appropriate fee.  Glogster's educator version now has three options:

1.    Teacher Lite allows teachers to manage up to 50 student accounts for $29.95 per year.  This is comparable to the free teacher version that existed up until about a week ago.  They did throw in a few more perks including access to the data and drawing tools and removing all advertising.

2.   Teacher Premium allows management of up to 200 students per year for $99.  This version also includes a few more tools such as the ability to modify usernames and project and portfolio management.

3.  School Premium is a multilicense for schools to manage an unlimited number of students.  The cost is $2 per student per year.

While Glogster's public version (www.glogster.com) is still free, the content there can be inappropriate and all users have to be 13 to create an account.  Teachers can still sign-up for a free educator account, but they can no longer add and manage student accounts.  If your students used Glogster in the past, you may also want to consider alternative free web tools available to meet your goals.