TASLA 2011: A Little Bit More

I did not get this information posted in a timely manner relating to the administrator's conference in June. Life, my topsy-turvy life, got in the way! I wanted to go ahead and include it here, particularly because of the author Lester Laminack and his books! Charming word-involved picture books, but more importantly a master in drawing you into how to use his books or anyone else's for matter to convey an idea, share knowledge or create a mood. If you ever get the chance to experience him go for it! You will not be disappointed!

*****************

Day 2 is not starting off well...our Internet is being clunky! A room full of Librarians not connected is not a happy place. Grrr.


PSJA Reads Together...Catch the Reading Wave...Read!

A 7-year old community wide reading promotional program coordinated through the Library Department of PSJA ISD. Nora Galvan, one of my favorite TASLA friends, passionately is explaining it to us. It is a multi-level, multi-age program using lots of donated and half-pice books. Lots of book clubs giving the students a chance "to belong." Timeline seems to run by six-weeks periods.

Cute book Shiver Me Letters was part of her presentation. A very touching tribute to the New Orleans tragic hurricane--the film produced by middle schoolers was very emotionally charged for the book Ruined by Paula Morris. The high school example was for Speak. Another great production was for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Incredible student productions! (with editing help from the district) You can't help but want to read the books.

Some of the featured books (and others) are here on a YouTube collective video.

Maybe this can be adapted for a school who could work with a high school video crew???? A collaborative opportunity.

Project Share - Lannon Heflin, Region 13 ESC

You can have a url as a part of this program..space online for you

www.epsilen.com/[your name once you register]

use it as a "teacher page", a training area, a whatever!

it can be your professional portfolio...something you really need to develop if you haven't!

There is a course catalog with projects developed and shared by others. You can see them by date or subject.

TEKs - updates & materials available for use

Digital resources .. free and otherwise

• science resources will be here in place of the no textbooks plan.
• open source content
• NY Times digital archives - the speech example

Professional networking

Districts have space for PD (moodle, Blackboard idea)

student learning access - probably secondary level most beneficial. This part is just know starting, in the infancy stage.

Life-long teacher account. Has to be set up within an institution connection, but is ongoing.

Texas Education Itunes U - videos from colleges, univerisities, other entitites, free to use!

OnTrack - end of course prep materials

The Faces of Project Share - each school district has a presence.

Phase 3 - student account portion.

• earth to space High School course - official online course for credit
• OnTrack end of course info
• other things I didn't capture

Lester Laminack - author

Three Hens and a Peacock

the after lunch speaker

keeps a writer's notebook

telling a good story is his reason for writing

The book he is currently working on ---Sam Loves Pink , 4 1/2 rough & tumble boy who just likes the color. A real-life experience he has had with a young kid; sounds fabulous.

Discussion of picture book uses...explanation of war

Playing War

Faithful Elephants - personally one of my favorite books..is NOT for young children or those who can't get through emotionally charged material!

Harmonica

Yellow star

erica's story

The woman's hat

scene from number the stars

railroad in the sky

under the the quilt of night

Ruby Brdges

Through my Eyes

Remberence

bullying

accentuate that we are the same

there is difference

be good to eddie lee

momma zooms

human beings can be acting based on their feelings love and fear

show active violent reactions...direct bullying

One (another title Zero)

the terrible thing

Bystander

Thank you Mr turrupt

critical literacy

Getting Boys To Read

ABDO has a list on web site

sophisticated media consumers by the time they enter school!

collection development ideas from boys' pajamas

using video games to develop collection

duty to have great football collection football literacy on the website

659.102 100 Best Ads: Little Bits of Cultural History

Comments from bloggers can take you to the most interesting blog posts/sites.

The latest one lead me to the The Top 100 Advertising Campaigns, not necessarily a new site, but new to me. I had fun going down the list and remembering all those little mini-movies and stories that entertained us between breaks in the stories we were watching on TV. Most of these

became household icons because A. we had no remotes and B. we had only 3 TV stations to watch for a really long time.

Granted there are a handful from as far back as the 1920s included, but the vast majority made the list because of the time they spent on the airwaves, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s...up to and including the infamous 1984 Macintosh computer commercial!

As is my usual plan, I went thru the list thinking about a visual to include...one of the campaigns that was a personal favorite of mine. Most of the symbols, etc. were found on sites that had rights reserved so I decided on Smokey, the fun icon of my childhood who taught me a lot about how to be careful in the forests of my summertime home.

Once I started reading, I found out the campaign is the longest PSA (public service announcement), Smokey has a very comprehensive interactive website with all kinds of safety info and history of the real Smokey and the ad campaign itself!

By the way, Smokey doesn't remind you that only you can prevent forest fires. Starting in 2001, it was changed to wildfires...doesn't have quite the same ring...messes with the cadence of my brain, but nevertheless, is still an important thing to remember. AND even an icon as important as Smokey does have to undergo a makeover every once and awhile so "GetYour Smokey on!"

Ok, ok, I digress...back to the list of ads. There are so many on it that were fun: Where's the Beef...inspirational: Keep America Beautiful's Crying Indian...and even some that go straight to the heart: Hallmark anything! Come on, you know you tear up sometimes!

Now it's your turn. What's a favorite for you? What memory didn't make the list and should have?

P.S. Not sure what criteria was used in making selections and the information attached to the list doesn't always talk in the "lovely memories" tone of this post. Each to his/her own. That's what great about the 2.0 world!

Visuals from SmokeyBear.com

612.8 The Power of Touch

A good friend sent this to me.

Please take the minute AND 40 seconds it takes to watch the ENTIRE video. It is worth it!
And then tell me you couldn't make several lessons for any age level.
I dare you!

And then go hold hands (even virtually) with someone!

741.6 ObamiconMe: A "Sign" of the Times

The Obama Hope campaign poster ...and the more recently created inauguration poster ...by Shepard Fairley have inspired another creative group to develop ObamicomMe, an image generator where you and I can play around with the technique. Here are few of my favorites from the gallery of creations.

From these examples above, I see lots of ways they can be used in libraries and classrooms. Don't you?

Here are some of my efforts.

It does require you to register in order to save your creations, but it is super easy and a whole lot of fun!

image 1 & 3 of my creations: Microsoft Clipart

image 2: personal colection

551.72 Snowflakes: Generate you Own Pile

Those of you who live with snow day in and day out for several months a year...forgive me. One more fun activity generated by the excitement of our recent snowfall.

Make-a-snowflake image generator. Use virtual scissors to cut out your own creation from a piece of virtual paper...and no mess to clean up! Possibly the cleverest part of the whole activity is watching the computer take the "paper" and magically fold it for perfect snowflake cutting! ( Hey, simple pleasures...what can I say!)

You save them or upload to the gallery...which contains thousands and thousands of entries. That is my one contribution at the top of the post. And below is an Animoto slideshow where I pulled samples from the gallery for your viewing pleasure.

006.6 Dumpr: TOO Much Fun!

I have records open on my desktop that I SHOULD be cataloging, but I am taking a few minutes of virtual hookey time to show you Dumpr. Maybe it is not new to you and maybe you are not hooked on image generators as I am, but this one is pretty cool, ridiculously simple, very fast...and mostly FREE...the best kind!

I pulled up an old picture of a friend...those of you who have been in some of our department's staff development will recognize him! Look at all the things I can do to him.

Some of the things on the site do cost $$, but are marked pro so it is easy to tell. They can be saved, printed, uploaded to Flickr, or embedded almost anywhere in the 2.0 world you can think of!

Ok, ok, ok...I gotta get back to my cataloging. Go have fun!

P.S. The squishy one is really fun...you do the squishing. You HAVE to do that one at least!

741.5 Comic Book Generator: Check Out the Possibilities

I was introduced to a comic book generator and some online comics from a site called MashOn. Click on Spore on the menu bar to get to the generator. Click on comic strips to get one of 3 sets of strips: Chaotic, Holiday, or Urbaniacs. I have not checked yet (ok--I have forgotten!) to check and see if it is available in district, but it looks worthy of some time even if it is only available away from school. [Hurray! it is open in district!]

No I haven't actually made a comic...yet.

If you have noticed, I haven't had much blogging time either, but I did want to get this site out there so all you adventurous souls can try it out after the turkey dinner is eaten, your favorite football team has fallen in defeat, and the mall holds no interest on Black Friday.


I have be advised that it is kid-friendly. How young-friendly it is, I'm not sure. I am not even sure if registration is a requirement to creating something or added benefit to what you can and can not do on the site.

So, please go try it and see what you think...share what you think!

371.22 Videostreaming For the Younger Set

Last week, I was told this site existed so I went to see what it is all about. TOTLOL is for younger children and their parents to share the "funny" video experience. It is powered by YouTube and includes videos rated by parents as safe and appropriate for the younger children in the family. Here is the background behind the site which just launched about two weeks ago.

A check search thru the videos shows that animals and pets are a big part of the collection. I'm sure there are many other things that I will find when I return again. I selected this video because I too have a dog with a crazy habit. Enjoy!

http://www.totlol.com/watch/CoiFGva_JoY/Dog-Vs.-Balloons/0/

There are some "learning" videos included on the preview page as well...look like pre-reading and vocabulary building activities.

The site does not include file info (that I can find yet), so I can't put the video up here, but I'll be watching to see if things change.

I will be checking to see if it is available in district tomorrow...my initial thoughts are that it is not, at least for now, because of its association to YouTube.

Update: It is NOT available in district (for now anyway)

I will be adding it to our recently created wiki page of early childhood materials so others can check it out as well.

791.45 Mensa + Television History = Oxymoron?

Ran across this article where a Yahoo entity (person, team?) comments on the list that the head of Mensa put out as his thoughts of the Top 10 Smartest TV shows. Interesting comments from both as to the whys behinds the selections. A more complete picture of the original announcement can be found here.

The list (in no particular order) includes:
Jeopardy
Cosmos
M.A.S.H.
All in the Family
Frasier
CSI
West Wing
Boston Legal
House
Mad About You

I can hear the buzzing already.

1. Who would have thought anyone who is a big-wig (heck, a plain ol' member) in Mensa would have "wasted" time on the social wasteland of TV as many people consider it to be? ( I said many people, not I!)

2. Jeopardy and Cosmos are givens as far as I am concerned based on their intent and content.

3. M.A.S.H. -- my personal all-time favorite show. It made me think ALL the time...in between the laughing and tears.

4. All in the Family -- another personal favorite on many levels (including the fact it was the ONLY TV program my father ever talked to me about long-distance while I was away at school.)

5. Frasier -- ok, I think I can see this one...especially since it is on about 15 times a day right now in re-runs so there is plenty of opportunity to "study" it. I do think it has to do more with the "brilliance" of the brothers and an occasional spotlight among the other players than the overall program.

6. CSI -- science at a level similar to that of Cosmos made more "entertainable" with stories. The science is at such a high level that I just have to assume it is being portrayed closely. If I really want to understand the "why" I can not multi-task. I often found myself researching the results...the chemistry or physics or whatever. And if I had ever entertained the thought of committing a crime..well, that idea is completely gone now...for sure!

7. I loved the West Wing...another one I could not multitask around...great characters, but Top 10 "smartest?" I will have to think on that one. Same with Boston Legal and House...great characters...good representatives, but Top 10?

8. Mad About You -- huh? Did not watch it in prime time. Have seen bits and pieces because of re-runs. Would have thought Seinfeld would have taken this spot ahead of Mad. and I was not a Seinfeld fan simple because I didn't "get it."

But that is why I love trivia lists like this one...for the thinking and talking that will occur because of it!

As for a few more of my "why aren't they there" choices...
Lost--if you want something representing current TV. Especially fond of the literary "clues."
Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone--a classic though-provoking show (I bet there are few people out there surprised I would have this one MY list.)
Laugh-in --I was in high school. I wish it was in re-runs so I could study it as an adult now!
Northern Exposure-- enjoyed it, still not sure I understood it.

Wish there was a list of "most intelligent" books...that would be an interesting study!

Got any thoughts?

O, BTW...want some oxymoron info?

912 A New Geography Challenge: Knowledge is One Thing, But You'll Need a Fast Finger

Ready...set...go Traveler IQ Challenge

How Well Do You Know Your World

points are based on how close you get to the actual location and how fast you make your choice. Made me dizzy having to think so fast!

I hope it comes thru in district! (it does!...yeah!)

Found thru a blog birdwalk where I ended up on 24Learning

155.2 Personality Traits: How Do You Match Up with HP Characters?

And you thought all the attention to HP was over. Nope!

Here is a fun little quiz to see how you stack up against the characters of the Harry Potter books. It is loosely based on the Myers-Briggs Personality test.

Now all I need is for someone who knows Dumbledore and the "real" me, to tell me if this a true match or not. (Remember, I didn't read them...TOO much fantasy!) [blocked in district--games!...it's worth a look elsewhere...fun!]


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

FROM THE WEBSITE:

Explanation of the Results:This type of personality test uses four indexes of personality and the combination of the four is your personality type. The first index relates to how you interact with other people and can be Extroverted(E), meaning you're more outgoing or Introverted (I), meaning you keep more to yourself. The second relates to how you make decisions; whether you're Intuitive(N), getting answers from within, or you rely on Sensing (S) information from your surroundings, using your five senses. The third relates to whether you're more emotional and Feeling (F) or rational and Thinking (T). The fourth relates to whether you prefer things to be organized, meaning you're Judging (J), or you prefer things to be more unbound, meaning you're Perceiving (P).
For more information about real, scientific personality typing, visit the Kiersey Temperament and Character Website.

Thanks to Gargoyles Loose in the Library for sharing the fun!

785.06 Vegetable Orchestra: A Salad Bowl of Sound

I love the Web. I love all of the creative people and things I get to see because some creative person put something together and then some other creative person made a video of it and handed it over to another creative person to put it up on the Web so I could see.

Just wish all the students and teachers in my sphere of influence could see everything I see.

But for the ones who can away from school, I present the Vegetable Orchestra



I know there is science involved in the creation of the instruments...even a vocabulary review of the vegetables...how about a compare and contrast of these instruments with the real ones.

What about pairing it up with Orchestranimals by Van Kampen or Scott Gustafson's Animal Orchestra or Young Person's Guide to Music (with accompanying CD)

Maybe graphing (spreadsheet?) how many different instruments are made from carrots, gourds, squash...

The video is a tad long, but PLEASE hang on till the end ...the bell pepper horn up close is worth the wait!

I bet kids would remember more general information about the orchestra after viewing this!

P.S. Not sure creation of these instruments by young children would be possible...the tools are pretty wicked!

PPS. ok , did a little research to see if there were other versions that might come thru at school...
same group, but is narrated by a member (3+ minutes) maybe it will show? AVAILABLE in District!...just checked.
but no listings for TeacherTube or Google videos. Rats!

428.1 FreeRice: Practice Vocabulary & Contribute...Multitasking At Its Best

At FreeRice, practice (and at the same time, learn) vocabulary and, as a big bonus, contribute to funds to help with world hunger issues.

x

For every correct answer, ten grains of rice are donated to United Nations efforts to end world hunger. Needless to say, you won't be able to stop after just 10 grains. As you make correct word choices, the bowl fills up to make bundles of 100 grains.

x

Your vocabulary level is measured by your right and wrong answers. The number of people who miss the same words also affects the leveling. Good language arts activity.

x

Contributing...good community member.

x

What else?

Math...use the statistics available to do some "real-world" math.

Geography...use the maps and information about the countries involved.

Social Studies...ALL the information about the social issues, history, etc. about the problem of world hunger and poverty.

Even Science...health issues, food production

x

More information. Short video about the program from the director of the UN food program.

x

Now I just hope it opens in the district!

428.4 Readability "Test": A Fun Surprise?

Who knew? !

Put in the URL of your blog, your website, your "whatever you use or read" and find out the reading level. No explanation as to what is measured, etc. But hey, this is just for fun, remember!

Now I have to assess...did I intend to be so "scholarly"?

743.42 Ultimate Flash Face: A Cross Between Police Sketch Artist & Etch-A-Sketch Fun

This is just too much fun...and your creations can be saved, printed, emailed...

I sure hope it opens in the district!

And if you want to try your hand at the online version of the traditional Etch-A-Sketch, draw away! (arrow keys make the difference)

155.2 Nerd Test: Where Are You on the Scale?

Ok...I bit on another one of these because of a blogging buddy...no big surprises here...technically I am not a nerd....like anyone in their right mind would think I would be!
One field does indicate I do have some expertise/knowledge...duh, been studying it for 40+ years! Calls me a "cool geek"....hummmm?

If you are a "techie" or a big sci-fi fan, this is probably the test for you, for sure!





It was fun...and did make me think about some things!

Caution: it is a tad long, but not too time-consuming.

912 U.S Map: Can YOU Move It Fast Enough

Another online US map (48 states) practice website...Statetris

similar to the old Tetris game...I wasn't good at that either!

Beginner level: 10 minutes 30 seconds.

I couldn't get Montana to the west far enough before it ran into other states!

Two other levels where the states "spin" as well as drop.

There are versions for Africa, Europe, France, UK, Netherlands. Nope, haven't tried them yet...still trying to untie the knots in my fingers from the US version!

Another US map game.

006.7 National Blog Day + One!

In going thru some of my favorite professional blogs (1, 2, 3...) earlier today, I realized I let National Blogging Day go by without posting about some of my favorite blogs. So I'm a day late and a dollar short in sharing these with anyone who is interested...they are still worth it!

1. Library Stuff written by Stephen Cohen who came to the Texas Library Association annual conference a couple of years ago and really hooked me into the fun of the blogging world with his talks. I had not read any of his blog before hearing him talk about it and all of his other adventures related to this thing called blogging. I had some limited blog experience (mostly teen angst) and was ripe to see the bigger picture. His blog posts are short and sweet and to the point...they take you to all aspects of the library world and points beyond. Thanks Stephen!

2. American Presidents Blog is my favorite blog for trivia type info. I look forward to any and all of the interesting facts (and stuff) the team comes up with, but I am kinda of a history nerd anyway so this might not appeal to you. But if you have ANY reason to want to delve into all things presidential, this is the blog for you! (one the blog writers also blogs at History is Elementary, another one of the first blogs I found and devour on a regular basis)

3. Karbon Kounty Moos is written by a Montana ranch/farm woman who includes the most incredible photos of the area that I can actually feel like I'm standing in her pasture looking at a horizon full of mountains that bring back such fond memories of my own high country experiences. Her posts are full of things totally foreign to my daily life, but I can so easily escape into her world for a few moments of reading. Those adventures are some of the greatest mini-vacations I have ever had. I found this blog thru my friend and colleague over at

4. Of Life, Education, Travel, E-Bay & Books who started her blog as a means of recording a special trip and by doing so let me go along for the incredible ride she had during that adventure. She has gone to write about kinds of things, especially in the world of books and school libraries from her very unique and in-depth level of understanding. She entertains me, but more importantly she makes me think. Thanks G!

5. My last entry for this post is a "group" of bloggers made up of 2 former teachers turned stay-at-home moms and one former teacher turned librarian who write about their lives and make me laugh out loud EVERY time I read them. I am not linking to them here as they are a little more personal & private in what they write than what I like to include on my professionally-based blog. Their almost-daily expressions of life itself are like reading chapters in a good book and wanting the experience to go on and on...luckily it does...one of the grandest values of blogging. If you would like to have a peek at these blogs, let me know.

And I also must pay a small tribute to my own two daughters who used this social networking tool many years ago and introduced their mom to it in an interesting way. Neither write presently, but I look forward to their grown-up adventures if they ever do and I cherish the opportunity I had in seeing the world through their adolescent/YA eyes.

Blogging is a unique way to find yourself a way thru many venues of your choice. You don't have to write, but I do hope you experience some of the adventures in reading... and learning that are out there.

P.S. Although my blog roll is long and my bookmarks even longer...share something you think I'd like! I am always looking for something to new to "read"!

346.7304 Free Doesn't Always Mean Free to Use: Copyright Issues on the Web

With summer more than half over, all of us will begin thinking about lessons and projects sooner than later and will be looking for resources to use in said items. Not only will we come across print information, but we will also stumble on pictures, sounds, podcasts, music and videos that may be appropriate and useful in making our points... and many of these resources may be "free"...as in it will not cost us $ to download.

STOP...as the saying goes (or at least my paraphrasing of such saying)...nothing in life is really "free!" Look at the small print...and if at first you don't see it...look again just to be sure. There may be COPYRIGHT issues attached to the resource...i.e. the owner of the material may have strings attached to the use of the material.

Case in point: Free Children's Music.com...a website full of just what its title implies...all kinds of children's songs and dittys...in Mp3 format...easy for downloading. Cute, colorful website just screaming "Bring the kids and listen!" The home page states:

This is the place for great free songs for kids! Download all the terrific
children's songs you want to. There are no guarantees how long any of them will
be here, so grab them while you can. Have fun exploring!! And don't forget to
click on the artists' names to visit their web sites!

At the bottom of the home page is an even more important statement "Hey can I use this music to..."

It is intended to be downloaded and listened to on computers, MP3 players,
custom CDs for personal listening, etc. It is NOT intended to be played on your
web site, mixed with video or graphics and posted on another web site, played in
public as warmup music for a paying audience, burned to CDs intended for resale,
used on TV shows, etc.

The website author goes on to explain that it is not his music so he can not grant use. Anyone wanting to use it in the ways listed above should contact the actual owner of the music. Yes, email the artist and ask if the music can be put on in PPT, on a web page, in a photostory presentation, etc.

The ability to download the file does not give us the right to use it the way we want.


And those stacks of CDs we all have with all the "perfect background" music for that special welcome-back-to-school PPT program or campus TV news program aren't "free" for the using either...unless the artist/owner states so!!

Be careful...our kids are watching!

025.21 Books for Boys: A Quick Laundry List of Titles

Just a quick post about an article from the LA Times I came across giving good (but not necessarily new) ideas about books for boys…probably in the 9-11 age group on up to YA.
How to hook the reluctant boy reader Gags, gadgets and adventure — sure fire recipes to make boys (and girls) read by Denise Hamilton

If you have spent 15 minutes in a library with boys at this point in ther lives, these titles will be well known to you…Alex Rider, Capt’n Underpants, Wayside School, Hank the Cow Dog, Ender’s Game, Crispin, Lighting Thief, Cirque de Freak…

Personally, I am SUCH an easy mark for books with catchy or gimmicky titles. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by Oh Yuck! or Oh, Yikes! History’s Grossest, Wackiest Moments ?
So if you need an idea for one of your display corners when school opens back up…this article is a good place to get some inspiration.

Maybe you have some other thoughts to share with all the lurkers(oops! I mean readers) out there!

P.S. I do—Grossology and It’s Disgusting and We Ate It (kind of a history of food!) come on….NOT every book has to be “serious!”