Blogs

• Flat Classroom Project 11-1
• Flat Classroom Project 11-2
• NetGenEd Project 2011

• Each expert is asked to take at least two times to read and leave feedback on the main wiki page of the group on the discussion tab of the page.
• Your job is to provide feedback and point out resources to the team. You are an "advisor." Please join our diigo group and your bookmarks will be sent to the groups. If you're not sure of what a term is, they align to the Flatteners assigned to each team and from Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat.

What if you could find a learning management system that would allow you to take polls, post assignments and links, create online quizzes, and upload files for free?  Better yet, what if you could find an online resource that would actively engage students to become independent, lifelong learners?  Edmodo is that site!  Edmodo is a secure worldwide learning environment where teachers and students can collaborative and learn from each other. 

Almost 800 educators are connected in a nationwide Edmodo group, the "Common Core Conversation," to discuss what their schools, districts, and states are doing to address the new Common Core Standards in the k-12 classrooms. 

Help us reach 1,000 innovative educators.  Join the Common Core Conversation at http://www.edmodo.com.  The group code is gy48aa.

Kristina Holzweiss, The Laptop Lieberrian

lieberrian@yahoo.com

Hi, My name is Gwyneth and I use Wikipedia every day.

There, I said it. Somehow that's pretty freeing! Wikipedia is NOT a dirty word. We're doing a disservice not teaching our kids HOW to use it and how to cite it...as in - ummm selectively & with forethought. Sadly, I don't believe teachers & college professors are ready to wrap their mind around or admit recent studies that show: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica.

Much like the Internets in general, (or the Googles, or the Facebooks, or the Twitters, or the YouTubes) many educators look upon Wikipedia with suspicion, sometimes derision, and occasionally with fear.

But who are we kidding? It ain't goin away folks! the Wikipedias are here to stay...It's an Internet Wonder of the World! And for gosh sakes, it comes up top 3 in just about any Google search you do. What? Ignore a good entry for a query? Really? Can you admit, you use it, too?

So....How do we teach kids to use it?

Teaching Wikipedia in 5 Easy Steps.

1. Use it as background information
2. Use it for technology terms
3. Use it for current pop cultural literacy
4. Use it for the Keywords
5. Use it for the REFERENCES at the bottom of the page!

Tech Terms Here: I mean, I love me my research databases! I do! Heck, I even made a animation video for them! I love you Gale/Cengage, Sirs, Worldbook, and EBSCO - I do! But if I look up Hashtag or QR code there, all I get are a few articles (one by Chris Harris! YAY!) but no explanation. No definiton. No examples of real world use. That's just not good enough.

But when you look up Hashtags or QR code in Wikipedia you get it ALL!

Click for a Teaching Wikipedia At-A-Glance Comic Tutorial! (working on that now)

Oh and By the by...this blog caused me to work. Yeah, like do something I've never done before and it hurt a little. Learning something new sometimes feels ouchy and uncomfortable. Because of this posting I created a Wikipedia editing profile and pushed myself to create a Wikipedia page for my school Murray Hill Middle School because I wanted to be there when my kids (or parents) look for us on the Howard County Public School wikipage. Another step forward in Web Presence and Advocacy - & yes, Socialnomics: be where your customers are. But, I got stubborn and pushed through the uncomfortable feeling (took a break to have dinner Buffy Hamilton & Mary Beth) and Voila! It's done...whew!

"The goal here is not to take Wikipedia as gospel but to use it to focus your research (via links, keywords and references) and get a little context (via background information). Focusing cuts down the time you spend on the project while context will get you a better grade for your effort." - by rebecca from Gear Fire

4 ways to use Wikipedia (hint: never cite it)

Teachers: Please stop prohibiting the use of Wikipedia

Unnatural acts at Nature

20 Little Known Ways to Use Wikipedia

Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica

Rosenzweig, Roy. "Can history be open source? Wikipedia and the future of the past" Journal of American History, Volume 93, Issue 1 (June 2006) p. 117-144.

What about YOU!?

I've started a Quixotic project for this school year.  I'm going to review one YA book a day for every school day.  We start school early, so we've already been back a week.  I got ahead of my reading this summer, so I should be able to keep up.  

I'm doing the reviews on Instagram.  I take a selfie with a book covering my face.  Then I give a super short review.  I'm hoping it turns into a way students at my school can get suggestions for books.  

Join me at roscoeteller on Instagram.

Information Investigator 3.1

A limited time preview of the 21st Century Information Fluency Project's online self-paced training and assessment course is now available to all educators.

We use a game based scenario that puts the student into the process of working their way into medical school as they complete real time search challenges. This is our newest approach to information fluency assessment and training.

This work aligns directly to ISTE NETS for Students 3. Research and Information Fluency.  It also promotes informational reading as called for in the Common Core Standards.

This package starts with a 10-level interactive tutorial that diagnoses and strengthens eight key search and evaluation competencies.

Live search challenges are coupled with "first aid kits" that address the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.

A Certification Exam is provided after the tutorials to assess information fluencies in finding and evaluating information.

The entire experience can be completed in about 3 hours.

If you are interested in previewing the entire package for your students, please contact Carl at carl@21cif.com.

The course and your personal performance assessment is completely free.

The 21st Century Information Project was originally funded by a Federal Department of Education grant. This course and assessment package is part of a 3 year project and was developed with feedback from teachers and library media specialists across the country. 

Over 900 students in middle school and high school took the course this summer and improved their information fluency scores by over 50%.

Take the first step!  Contact Carl at carl@21cif.com

…Hope you will be willing to share with your teacher and student populations, particularly in light of President Obama’s recent visit to Cuba.

The groundbreaking documentary movie Havana Motor Club will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films 8 April.

QR Code files for listed resources are also attachedHavana%20Motor%20Club%20Racing%20History%20Lesson%20Plan_20160405.docxHavana%20Motor%20Club%20Racing%20QR%20Codes_20160406.docx for classroom-based mobile device use.

Feel free to contact me with questions, etc.

Take care.

Tom

Tom Adamich, MLS

President

Visiting Librarian Service

224 Chauncey Ave. N.W.

P.O. Box 932

New Philadelphia, OH 44663

330-364-4410

vls@tusco.net

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fifteen year old Lina’s life in Lithuania changes drastically when the Stalin regime brands her family, “thieves and prostitutes.” They are rounded up and forced from their homes and their land to the deprivation of Russian Siberia. Separated from her imprisoned father; Lina, her mother, and little brother, each try in their own way to survive the brutality of the Russian soldiers and the harshness of their environment. In the twelve years that they are brutalized, fall ill, and starve; thousands die, but it is through a determination to live to see their homeland, that drives these deportees to triumph through the hell of their imprisonment. If you loved The Book Thief, this book will speak to how the world must never let this kind of genocide ever occur again.

View all my reviews

The teacher librarians in our district are starting a school library support/advocacy group.  While researching other groups on the web I noticed something.  Most of the groups discuss ways to strengthen the library collection, sponsor events, etc., but they didn't talk about advocating for adequate teacher librarian staffing.  Is there any information available on successful strategies that have been used to persuade administrators to restore teacher librarian positions?

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Geoff Herbach's Felton Reinstein is one incredible character. His voice is funny, sweet, confused and just plain nice but life has not been easy for Felton and his family. At the age of five, Felton finds his father's body after he hung himself. Felton grows up insecure with some bad advice from his mother, doctors, and not having a father figure. The summer that his best friend unexpectedly leaves to take care of his grandmother; everything goes crazy- Felton's mom agrees that he will take over his best friend's paper route; he shoots up inch by inch, eats everything in sight, starts lifting weights for football, and running. Felton meets Aleah Jennings when he drops a newspaper off at his best friend's house. Aleah is a superb piano player and likes Felton. Felton begins seeing Aleah daily and they definitely have a romantic, sweet connection. But then his mother starts acting strange, cursing, drinking, and as a final threat she stops being a mother to Felton and his little brother, Andrew. Felton doesn't want to burden anyone with his family problems and his father's suicide is always a specter that keeps chipping away at his mother, brother, and Felton. I laughed at Felton's thoughts and actions but I really felt for Felton when his family was falling apart; he didn't know what to do, how to act and he withdrew by missing lifting, practices,not seeing his friends or Aleah. What will happen to Felton is worth all the drama and laughs. Herbach's book is a recommended read, I can't wait to see what my students think, since this is a Reading Olympic book selection.

View all my reviews

Take Me There by Susane Colasanti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love Susane Colasanti books! Told by three different friends' perspectives; Rhiannon has been dummped by Steve and he hasn't really given her a reason why. Rhee's best friend Nicole has just broken up with Danny, she is not sure why; but Danny definitely still cares about Nicole. James is Rhiannon's friend and hates his life and just wants to get away to college so he can make lots of money after he graduates. There is drama, suspense and a whole lot of teen angst going on in this book. I truly enjoyed all the characters, even mean girl, Gloria. Colasanti did a great job of showing how supportive these friends were; yet they still kept secrets and heartache from their friends. It was nice to see the progression of Rhee's friendship with James. Even Mrs. Schaffer knew James cared for Rhee, but it took Rhee (after she really realized Steve was over her and dating a new girl) trusting herself and feeling comfortable and whole around James to realize he would make her life better. Nicole has issues that resolve when she realizes she truly cares about Danny and that she must tell her friends the truth in order to be free. I love the way Colasanti paints New York, her characters' thoughts, and their language. I would have given this book 5 stars if there was only one narrator; with the 3 narrators, there was sometimes overlap and going back and forward in time, that might take away from the story, not add to it.

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Stay with Me by Paul Griffin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved, loved, loved this book! I loved Paul Griffin's Mack Morse and the slow way he is drawn to CeCe (even though her older brother Anthony sees them together)but this is a very tough book to read; at one point I was so unsettled, I was unsure if I wanted to continue to read. I am so glad I did! Mack has a record, he doesn't look you in the eye, and he has a father who is mostly drunk (that is why mom left)but Anthony sees the good in Mack and it is this good that the reader must constantly go back to because Mack is his own worst enemy in some ways. But the things I loved the most about Mack is his LOVE for pit bulls and the uncanny way he has of calming them and his deep, abiding love for CeCe. Their relationship was so beautiful; they tell each other their secrets and give of themselves totally for each other. I needed to remember this throughout this story because when bad things happened (and they happened alot)I was plunged to the depths of despair for this 15 year old boy, who is not a student due to dyslexia, and can't seem control his rage on his own. It is the wonderful pit bulls that Griffin uses to heal Mack and CeCe and later her family. The other characters like CeCe's mom and Vince are so real. Vince sees Mack as a dog trainer and works to make Mack believe he can truly succeed in this profession. CeCe's mom is a mess; she loves her family but handles stress by drinking, coloring her hair and baking most bad cornbread. What I liked about Griffin's characters is that they all see the goodness in Mack even if he doesn't see it in himself and it is this abiding belief in him as a person they love and believe in that must sustain them all. I think this urban fiction will appeal to girls, guys and the reluctant reader. Also the dog lover, especially those who love the pit bulls, despite their bad rap. This book is a romance, realistic, and a stunning YA novel I will be recommending to my students.

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Curated Articles about Information Fluency

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-information-fluency

Book review: Roam by C. H. Armstrong