Kindergarteners! 1st Trip To The OHE Library!!

Is there anything more beautiful than introducing our library collection to our bright shiny new readers!!  So many new books, so little time!

Kindergarteners - 1st Trip To The Library!! by Slidely Slideshow

Images Of A New Year! Let's Celebrate With The Cycloramic App & GifPal.com

This year, I welcomed back our students with a theme - Images of a New Year!!  For a while now, I have been looking for an opportunity for students to learn more about the images that fill the world around us! (file formats and styles!!) Last school year we took the time to learn about taking selfies, stop motion animation and creating and editing videos, but I wanted them to have a chance to bring it all together!  So I welcomed our students back with a fun new iPhone app that I discovered at the ISTE conference in Atlanta in June...it is called Cycloramic.   I am always looking for ways to introduce new apps to students!  This one fit into our discussion on images perfectly!  Some of my students had seen the app when it was originally presented on the TV show Shark Tank!! The app vibrates the iPhone so that it spins 360 degrees and records either images or videos!  Students were amazed! After recording, it "stitched" together images for a panoramic view!

Next, we used GifPal.com to continue the discussion of how images can be put together to make primitive movies, similar to the flip books that people draw in the corner of books! (Funny how many students had seen these!)  .gifs are images that are compressed, making it easier to transfer them. Students had a great time creating our Gifs!!  Just a quick caution about all of the .gif making websites! It is a good idea to preload the site and get it set up before sharing with students.  Sometimes the sites can have inappropriate material, so I launch the site to the place I want them begin and then invite students to "strike a pose"!  Try not to get dizzy with one of our examples!!!

Our next lesson will give students the opportunity to have some fun with image effects and collages! 

Celebrate Beginnings!!

Welcome Back Everyone!!!  We began a new school year on September 2nd and it has been a whirlwind!!  I am finally settling down to write about the wonderful excitement of our 2014-15 school year!  It is always so heartwarming to see our school and library come alive with our school family!  I recently read a beautiful blog post about this very thing from Jennifer Reed, a librarian blogger who writes - Reederama.  I thought she described coming back for a new school year so eloquently!

It's Here!! The Much Awaited AASL Best Websites For Teaching & Learning 2014

   

Each year for the past six years the American Association of School Librarians has published their well vetted list of great educational websites, and new in 2013 - Apps.  Many of these websites and apps have become my favorite websites to use with my students!  The lists include InstaGrok (one of my absolute favorites!!), Smore, Inklewriter, Padlet, Tellagami and Flipsnack!  Recently while at the ISTE conference in Atlanta, I had the chance to meet the creators of several of this year's favorite apps!  It was a thrill to meet the creator, Kirill and manager, Justin of InstaGrok! They are rock stars for creating a tool to help students with the complex tasks required for research!

I also got to meet creator, Ulla, of one of AASL's best websites, Thinglink, another fabulous app for creating interactive images!

I am excited to explore AASL's 2014 list of educational websites and apps.  This has been such a wonderful resource over the years! Guess what I will be doing during July and August as I prepare for my students for our upcoming school year!!

Six Reason Why Twitter Is The Perfect Tool For Our Educators Seeking Summer Professional Development!!

Most teachers have a constant list of educational trends, theories and techniques they wish they had time to learn about during the school year but just can’t seem to find the time.  Summer is the perfect time for teachers to explore professional development driven by their own interests and passions. Teachers don’t have to attend classes, workshops and conferences to investigate their professional interests. Twitter can provide educators an inexhaustible source of fast and inexpensive professional development, perfectly packaged for summer learning!

Many educators don’t realize that Twitter is the perfect tool for them!  They may think that is purely about social interactions and gossip, not learning. Several aspects of the Twitter format make it especially useful for educators!

1.     As teachers follow other educational practitioners, they can pick and choose what they want to pursue, customizing for their needs. Not every tweet is equally relevant to their interests, but every tweet offers a potential opportunity!  It offers an opportunity to discover new ideas, prove or disprove their own beliefs, improve their techniques, build enthusiasm and make connections with educators around the globe! 

2.    Twitter is learning in a hurry! In a few seconds, a Twitter user can assess the relative value of a tweet and decide whether or not it is something they are interested in.  Within a very short time, they can find new ideas! Twitter users often share infographics and memes which also expresses ideas quickly and easily! 

 3.    Twitter is a fantastic tool even for the casual "creeper"/"lurker". These are the terms my teenaged daughters use for a person who follows but doesn't tweet.  It sounds more menacing than it is, but the point is, even though Twitter is better when you jump in and make contributions and connections, it is really great for mining ideas as a passive observer!  Just sign up for an account and follow a few prominent educators to get started!

4.   Though it may sound harsh, if someone's tweets aren't useful for you learning interests, unfollow.  Educators can build a Twitter professional network that works for them! It seems a bit unfriendly to unfollow, but that is what makes Twitter work as a PLN (Professional Learning Network)!  It allows users the opportunity to filter out the noise and focus on what they need. More over, it allows tweeters to find an audience of people who enjoy what they have to say.

5.    Twitter #chats are a fantastic way to focus on specific educational topics while also building Twitter professional relationships...dare I even say friendships! Chats are fast paced, jam-packed with ideas, and often include humorous banter among the participants. Trend in education are often discussed and provide participants with insights into the theories and realities of current trends such as Personalized Learning, Genius Hour, Flipped Classrooms, and Makerspaces.

6.    Most importantly, these newly acquired Twitter ideas, from practical to theoretical, have a way of making their way back to each educator’s classroom and to students in the fall! Educators may find that it shifts their professional approach at a fundamental level as they incorporate these new ideas and bring new energy into their teaching!

Preventing Summer Slide: Why Not Try Internet Research?

Today I had the honor of having one of my blog posts published by Edutopia! It was thrilling to share my writing, especially if my ideas help students and parents! Providing ideas that help educate students is what makes Edutopia such a great resource!  Their mission - 

We are dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process through innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. 

Edutopia curates and shares the collective ideas of educators all over the country, and today I got to be a small part of it! Most importantly, I am hoping our students become researchers as they learn to ask and answer their own questions!

Read to find out more!

Preventing Summer Slide: Why Not Try Internet Research?

Summer Reading Bucket List - Preventing Summer Slide!!

Reading is one of the greatest tools to prevent the well documented academic "summer slide"! There are so many great options for our students. I thought I would suggest a few titles for them to consider this summer. This list is by no means complete. It would be impossible for me to mention all the great books in publication. Also, I have chosen books with a variety of publication dates.  Some are old favorites and some are new finds! You will find a heavy emphasis on books from series and trilogies. I am a huge fan of series books because they help students answer the question, "What should I read next!?!"

To our Oak Hills families - have a fantastic summer and read, read, read!!!

Check back occasionally, because even as I am publishing this list, I am finding more "must read" books that should definitely be on the list!!  I will be adding over the summer!!

Click for a bibliography of the summer reading bucket list!

MyOn eBooks

Series Picture Book

 Series Early Reader & Early Chapter Books 

Series Graphic Novel

Books for Grades 3 - 5+ Series

Great Nonfiction Books