No Shhing Here

My new favorite app of the moment is Nearpod . In a nutshell, the app deploys interactive presentations and collects student assessment data. Here's how it works (or at least how I've implemented it): I create a basic PowerPoint show for my topic. The slides only contain text and images (no animations or multimedia). The PowerPoint lays out the basic flow or structure of the lesson. I upload the basic PowerPoint to Nearpod. Using Nearpod on the web, I start adding interactive features to my basic presentations. These interactive features are slides that can be inserted in between my original PowerPoint slides. Interactive options include the following: Slide shows A blank drawing canvas (with a background of your choice) Videos Web browser displaying a site of your choice Polls Multiple choice quizzes Short answer quizzes 4. I then "publish" the presentation on Nearpod. Now you have two options for deploying the presentation. You can do one of t...

In honor of the OED's word of the year , this month's library bulletin board is devoted to selfies. To be totally honest, the word of the year was just a lucky coincidence. The board was actually inspired by this Teen Vogue article, " The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected Consequences of Selfie Obsession ." I know my kids are selfie obsessed, especially as they leave Facebook and flock to Instagram. From everything I've read, selfies are a useful tool in developing adolescents' personal identity, so I didn't want a board with a strict "selfies are bad" message, but I do think there are potential consequences my kids need to consider when sharing selfies. Hence our bulletin board theme - "Don't let selfies dictate your self-esteem." I think the Teen Vogue article does a great job explaining the issue, so it was easy to translate it into a bulletin board. The iPhone frames on the board address the following topics with excer...

As librarians, we're always encouraged to ensure student work is shared in the Real World. Recently, I started an Instagram feed for our library (follow us at DurgeeLibrary if you're curious). Students either directly share their work via the Library's Instagram account (the account information is saved to my carts of library iPads), or I photograph their work and share it myself. Sharing their work on Instagram helps accomplish our mission of Real World projects, but I didn't realize how it would positively impact student pride. Our junior high kids, like yours, are slowly leaving Facebook and finding a new home on Instagram. I noticed this trend during orientation, so at beginning of the year I created our library's Instagram account, but I've been slow to utilize it. Side note: creating an school Instagram account is so much easier and less fraught with potential complications than a Facebook page. I finally put it to work a few weeks ago so students...

Most school libraries aren't overrun with visitors during Open House. In my school, parents follow their child's class schedule, and then spend any study halls or lunch periods munching on cookies and punch provided by the PTSA in the cafeteria. A few devotees usually stop by and say hello, but the traffic flow through our space has always been limited, even with my best efforts to engage visitors. This year, our principal came up with a FANTASTIC idea. She asked us to host a "Locker Love Note" station in the library. During her opening speech and via announcements in between periods, she invited parents to stop by the library to write a note for their child's locker.   A parents slips a note into their child's locker. We set-up a little sign in the library explaining the process, and provided parents with index cards and markers. Once they wrote a note, parents were invited to stick it through the slot of their child's locker for them to find the...

Fire codes required us to ditch our comfy lounge seating this spring, so we had to find new furniture that met regulations. We searched high and low for an affordable option, and stumbled across the Huggmee Chair . They're produced in Arizona by a teeny tiny mom and pop company. Online, the chairs list for $887, but when we purchased 3, we paid significantly less. Fabric options varied - we ended up choosing a faux leather/heavy-duty vinyl that met fire code regulations. The chairs are unique because they're designed to allow users to sit in the "sling-a-leg" position - reclining backwards and throwing their legs over the chair's arm. The chairs are quite comfortable this way, though the low back makes them slightly less comfortable if you sit in a more traditional position. Three weeks into the school year, the chairs have gotten a super warm reception from both staff and students -- I haven't heard a single complaint. Multiple kids have asked h...

There really isn't anything better than hearing a thirteen-year-old whisper to his friend, "This is the coolest library ever!" I can't help but grin when students get excited about lessons. Happily, it's almost a guarantee that they'll dig anything involving the iPads -- library orientation is no exception. I've talked before about creating videos about each section of the library for my orientation lesson. In the past, I've asked students to choose the appropriate video from a list on their iPad's camera roll that corresponds to the stop number. Inevitably, some kids select the wrong video, or get horribly lost. This year, to combat that problem, and also up our cool quotient, I've added QR codes. I'm using the free app " Scan ," which worked perfectly on our iPads to display both text and open URLs. In class, I explained QR codes, and then students practiced using the app by scanning a handout at their table. Each table f...

Once again I'm presenting at the New York State School Library Conference, held this year in Rochester, NY. Below are the apps I'm covering in my workshop. Leslie's elementary app reccomendations can be found on her library page. 1:1 Apps * Timeline 3D ($4.99) * Timeline Eons ($6.99) * EBSCO Host (Free) * Access My Library (Free) * Solve the Outbreak  (Free) * Pass the Past (Free) 1:25 Apps * Haiku Deck (Free) * Ask3  (Free) * Voice Dream Reader ($9.99) * Apps Gone Free (Free) * iPoe Vol. 2 ($3.99) * Postagram (Free) * SparkVue  ($9.99) * AirMicro Pad (Free)   Studyhall Utilities * Amount ($.99) * MyScript Calculator (Free) * FitBrain Trainer  (Free) * Audible (Free) * Kindle (Free)

This is a two part series: Part I is a refresher on inquiry based learning models and their alignment to the Common Core. Part II discusses an inquiry driven 8th grade ELA research unit aligned to the Common Core. So I've spent some serious time hating on the Common Core, but over the past year I've come to appreciate many aspects of the new standards (though I continue to abhor any additional testing it's generated). One fantastic aspect of the Common Core is its emphasis on inquiry. Librarians are inquiry experts - it's what we do 24/7. Having the Common Core around helps justify our existence; I'm finding that most classroom teachers are uncomfortable with inquiry based learning, so we're needed now more than ever! Need a little refresher yourself? In this learning model, instead of expecting students to find the “right answer,” students are asked to find appropriate solutions to problems (typically, the problems - aka "questions" - are genera...

This week we hosted author Susan Campbell Bartoletti . It was my first time working with a big-name author, and between three months of maternity leave and teachers prepping for upcoming state testing, I felt a little frazzled pulling off the event. Happily, some advance made the day a success, even though I'd never done this kind of event before. Here are my top tips for planning a successful author visit at the junior high level. Susan eats lunch with our students. Ask your classroom teachers what authors they're interested in (or give them a short list to choose from). It's so much easier to pull off an author visit if you have teacher buy-in. They're under tons of pressure to perform on state exams and adjust to new curriculum standards, so they are going to be reluctant to give up class time for an activity they don't value. When they have a stake in the event everyone is much happier. Select authors that match your curriculum. When I prepared my s...