Library Media Musings

A clearer view...

2011-12-21T11:12:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to add a quote to my email signature, but today I came across a line that just sang to me.
A good nonfiction book often feels like a new lens prescription: You marvel at suddenly being able to see what was always there.
The line was penned by Wall Street Journal book reviewer Brian Christian in his review of The Secret Life of Pronouns. (You know you are a grammar geek when you get excited about things such as these...)Happy Holidays to all!Kathy

Beyond the Tree Octopus: web evaluation resources

2011-11-30T20:05:00.001-05:00

The resources below are part of a workshop on web site evaluation that I'm presenting at this year's Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference. To me, teaching kids to be more critical of the information they find online is the most important part of my job. I hope you feel the same and that you'll find these ideas and resources useful.

Enjoy!

Kathy

Watch the presentation on Slide Rocket.

My notes that I used while giving the presentation have lots of links and extra info.

Have some fun with our website speed dating activity.Use our "first date feedback" sheet and our website evaluation rubric.

Try this web evaluation activity using websites pertaining to autism. (Save the Google form as your own before using this, or you won't have access to your students' answers!)

The Marbury Lens : Not for the faint of heart

2011-04-07T18:11:00.001-04:00

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Sometime I look forward to reading a book I know nothing about, and such was the case with The Marbury Lens, by Andrew Smith. I knew it was some sort of sci-fi/fantasy novel and that it had gotten great reviews. Armed with no further knowledge, I downloaded it to my iPhone and headed out for a walk. It was an uncomfortable walk, to say the least, as Jack, the teenage protagonist, was abducted, drugged, and very nearly (I mean VERY nearly) raped by a man who had clearly done these things before.

For the next couple of days, I opted to listen to the birds on my walks, feeling no great desire to return to the story. Eventually, I went back to it. I figured this phase of the story would end soon and I would get to the sci-fi part, but even when I finally did, the book just proved too intense for me. Jack's mental anguish over what happened is grueling enough, but when he get's his first look into "Marbury," the world he is able to see through a special pair of glasses, the level of gore was just too much. After about nineteen chapters, I decided to call it quits.

Andrew Smith is clearly a skillful writer, and the narrator was good too. This just wasn't the book for me. Recommend this one only to older teens with strong stomachs.

View all my reviews

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

2011-04-01T07:48:00.002-04:00

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's been a lot of buzz about Ship Breaker, and now I understand why. Like the recent smash hit Hunger Games series, Ship Breaker immediately launches the reader into a not-so-futuristic world where ordinary teens fight for their lives on a daily basis in unspeakable conditions of poverty and danger. In this story, we meet Nailer, a boy who spends his days crawling around inside the rusted out hulls of tankers that have washed up on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in a time when rising sea levels have radically changed the landscape. With only a little phosphorous smeared on his forehead to light his way, Nailer crawls through duct work scavenging anything that might be worth a little something to the salvage company he works for. Life for Nailer and the other ship breakers is grim. His bosses are harsh, he sees little money for his dangerous work, and his alcoholic, drug-dependent father is unpredictable and cruelly violent even with his own son.

When Nailer and his friend Pima find a "swank" clipper ship washed up on a nearby beach after a hurricane, they believe they've finally found their lucky strike and that they may be able to escape the life of a ship breaker. They board the ship, hoping to strip it of as many precious metals and other treasure before the others discover it, but what they find on board has the potential to be more valuable and more dangerous than any treasure.

I listened to this as an audio book and I'd highly recommend it. The narrator, Joshua Swanson, is one of the best I've encountered at voicing a wide variety of characters from the lilting Caribbean voices of Pima and her mother to the growling tones of the genetically engineered half-men. I will certainly seek out his books in the future.

One of my only disappointments with this book will sound silly to some. When I finished Ship Breaker, I was happy with the way it ended and thought, "Finally. A YA author who doesn't have to turn every idea into a series." I am not a fan of sequels because they are usually letdowns, and I rarely read beyond the first book. I guess I should be happy that Bacigalupi wrapped up the story in a way that allows me to walk away satisfied (are you listening, Suzanne Collins?), but I was disappointed when I learned there will be a sequel. I'm sure most readers will be happy to be able to hear more about Nailer's adventures, but you won't find me tagging along on his next adventure. I'd rather savor this great story and move on to something else.

View all my reviews

NH Downloadable Books: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (review)

2011-02-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

NH Downloadable Books: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (review): "Most of the time, the decision to listen to a book instead of reading it in print is one of convenience for me. As a high school librarian, ..."

I usually don't read sequels, but I'm counting the days...

2010-08-16T09:50:00.000-04:00

Newbery winner defies categorization

2010-01-23T16:10:00.002-05:00

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This will be such a difficult book to explain and sell to students because it really transcends genre. If I call it science fiction, those seeking action, aliens, and intergalactic travel will be disappointed, but ultimately, that's what it is. I got to hear Susan Beth Pfeffer speak recently and she said she had no idea that Life as We Knew It was science fiction until she began reading reviews of her own book. This book has that same feel to it. It's not about time travel; it's about growing up.
I'm also afraid that this is one of those books that adults love, but is lost on kids. I once had a student who told me, "I won't read any book with a gold seal on the cover. Those things are the kiss of death. The books are always boring." In many cases, she was right.
Perhaps the best thing I could do is recommend this book to all of my adult friends. Perhaps some of them will read it aloud to a child in their lives, and a ripple effect will begin. So, adult readers of this blog, get reading!

View all my reviews >>

2009-12-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After hearing such great things about Evil Genius (also by Jinks), and seeing some strong ratings on GoodReads, I decided to give this book a listen. While I'm glad that others enjoyed this book, I'm afraid I'm not among them. It isn't funny enough to appeal to humor fans, not action-packed enough to appeal to horror fans, and certainly not the sexy-vampire story that dominates YA lit these days.

Nina and her "reformed" vampire friends are weak, sickly, whining and pathetic. As it turns out, vampires are nothing like legend would have us believe. In fact, as one non-vamp character points out, being a vampire is somewhat like having AIDS. It leaves sufferers in a weakened state and simply requires those around them to take a few extra precautions.

While the unlikely status of these vampires could make for hilarious comic fodder, Jinks doesn't quite pull it off. Too many descriptions of bouts of nausea, cleaning guinea pig blood off the shower tiles, and the other vagaries of being a vampire are revolting without being either scary or funny. Just gross.

View all my reviews >>

Smackdown! Screen Toaster vs. Screencast-O-Matic

2009-12-09T07:16:00.007-05:00

I've been using Jing for quite a while now, and I do indeed love it, but I think the love affair might be over. One of my colleagues told me about Screencast-O-Matic, and it didn't take long before this fantastic tool won me over. Then, as I was about to publish a comparison between the two (S-O-M won by a landslide), I came across Screen Toaster, and a new smackdown began.

First, let's talk about screencasting in general. If you've watched one of the many tutorials posted in my blog, then you already know what a screencast is. At its most basic, a screencast allows you to show what is on your screen while recording narration to go along with it. It's a great way to demonstrate to someone how to do something on their computer, whether it's demonstrating some of the privacy features on Facebook or showing a colleague how to insert a signature in their email. It's also a great tool for students to demonstrate their knowledge and talk about process while working on a project.

Both S-O-M and Toaster are web based. This means no download. AND in both cases, no signup or login! For classroom teachers, this is huge. Of course, you will get more features if you log in, and even more if you upgrade to the (very inexpensive) paid version, but you really don't have to do either of those things.

As you can see, both tools have their advantages. If you really want subtitles in your screencasts, Toaster is the way to go. Otherwise, I found S-O-M a little easier to use, and the fact that it uploads to YouTube HD is pretty cool. Either way, you really can't go wrong. Please keep me posted on how you are using screencasts with your students and staff, and which tool is most helpful to you.

If you need to see Screencast Smackdown in full screen mode, you can!

Collaborate online with Scribblar

2009-11-30T19:16:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was working with a debate class while they were researching their latest topics. One group of boys grabbed a small dry erase board to map out their ideas and decide who was doing what. Toward the end of the period, I went over to check in and see if they had copied the information down somewhere. "No, we took a picture of it with our phones," they told me. Genius! I never would have thought of it. But I knew that somewhere out there, someone in the world of Web 2.0 had gone even further. That's when I found Scribblar.

Scribblar is an online interactive collaboration tool that functions very much in the same way as that little dry erase board. Multiple members can log in to a session and create content and chat. There is no user name or password, just a URL that one person creates and shares with the other members of the group.

Here's a quick tour to get you started. In the hands of students, the possibilities are endless. Just step back and watch the ways they'll use it.

Need a full-screen version of this tutorial? Click here.

Banned Book Week 2009: Celebrate fREADom

2009-09-26T14:46:00.003-04:00

Some web 2.0 genius has created this interactive map showing US book challenges between 2007 and 2009. Click on the blue pegs for information about each case.

View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009 in a larger map

ORHS Library Commons Calendars

2009-09-25T10:44:00.005-04:00

Until our spiffy new web site is available, I'm posting the new calendar here for staff to use. BLUE is the library, and GREEN is the Writing Center. Please email Kathy and Wally with your requests.

Is this also an attempt to draw my new colleagues to my blog? I'll never tell.

Four ways to use Wordle (and one way not to)

2009-09-06T19:44:00.009-04:00

Let's get this out of the way right now: Wordle is not an end product. The first time I saw it, I thought, "How does making one of those show learning? I would never accept that as a final product from a student!"
It wasn't until after reading a bit about it and playing around with it, that I began to realize the potential of Wordle as a teaching tool.

So what's a Wordle?

Wordle is a web-based tool where you can paste text and create "word clouds." The illustration here shows a word cloud based on the Gettysburg Address, and it took about two minutes to create. Did I learn anything from making it? No. But I could certainly learn and teach a lot from it.

How can I use it in the classroom?

1. PREVIEW A PASSAGE--Give your students a Wordle and ask them to predict the topic of the reading it came from. What predictions do they have? What questions? Is there vocabulary they are unfamiliar with?
2. REVISE/CHECK FOR MEANING--Have your students create a Wordle from their first draft of a paper. Are there any surprises? Words that they overused? Opportunities for improvement?
3. FIND A "JUST RIGHT" READING TEXT: A Wordle will make it easy for a student to tell if the vocabulary in a particular passage will be too difficult, too easy, or just right.
4. COMPARE VIEWPOINTS: Take news accounts of a politically charged event from various sources and analyze the differences in word choice. Are there differences that jump out at you? What does it reveal about possible biases?

And how does it work?

It's really easy to create a Wordle, but you'll want to play around with it a bit to get the best effect. Here's a quick tutorial to show you the basics.

If you need to see a full-screen version of the Wordle tutorial, click here.

Presidential speech to students

2009-09-05T07:55:00.005-04:00

I am stunned by the furor over the president's speech to school children and frightened for our country. Right here in southern New Hampshire, there are school districts forbidding teachers to show the speech live and requiring signed permission slips to even show the taped version at a later date. Is the paranoia that has been whipped up over the health care debate reaching into the minds of mainstream Americans, or are the extremists just shouting loud enough to make it seem that way?

The fact of the matter is, this speech isn't about health care or bailouts or "cash for clunkers." It's about personal responsibility, goal setting, and pride in achievements. More importantly, it is a speech given by the man elected in a fair democratic process to serve as our leader. If school superintendents feel empowered to censor this, what will be next?

So what can we do? Please start by finding out what your local school district has decided to do about this speech. Has a wholesale edict come down from on high either banning or requiring broadcast of the speech? If so, get in touch and let them know that you disagree. I am fortunate to work in a district where the superintendent respects the professional judgment of his teachers and has left it up to them to decide whether or not it is a relevant and valuable use of classroom time--the same decisions he trusts us to make every single day. You better believe I'm going to be emailing him to thank him for that trust.

If there is a bright spot in all this, it is the incredible teachable moment that this debate provides us. I hope that teachers, whether they choose to show the speech or not, will take a few moments to talk to students about freedom of speech and the responsibilities that come with it. I'm looking forward to seeing what the president has to say on Tuesday.

Email with training wheels

2009-08-18T13:31:00.002-04:00

Zoobuh is an email service that allows parents to mediate and monitor childrens' emails. You can decide who your child can send and receive messages from. You'll even get a copy of all emails in your inbox.

Look out, kids. Big Mother is watching!

http://www.zoobuh.com/

When is Good for you?

2009-08-04T15:28:00.004-04:00

People are busy. Try getting a group of busy people together, and you’ll end up even busier sorting through dozens of emails trying to find a mutually agreeable time for all. Not anymore! When is Good is a fantastic tool that allows a group of people to compare availability without filling your inbox, and with no registration or logins required. I’ve included a quick demo below, but this site is so simple, you really won’t need it. I recently tried it out with my book club, and it was a breeze.

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, a novel by Reif Larsen

2009-07-27T10:20:00.002-04:00

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've been having a hard time explaining what I'm reading these days. "It's about a boy who is a genius cartographer and..." This is about as far as I get before eyes glaze over and an absent-minded "uh-huh" tells me that I've lost my opportunity to pitch this amazing book. Of course, T.S. would be able to describe the exact facial expressions of my dumbfounded listeners with the Ekman's Facial Action Coding System--a breakdown of facial expressions and their meanings that he uses to decode the phony smiles and false encouragement of the adults he meets on his journey to Washington D.C. to accept a prestigious award from the Smithsonian.
In fact, it is the exploration of that boundary between childhood and adulthood that is one of the most endearing things about twelve-year-old T.S.

He smiled, but his eyes maintained a trace of all that anger. I could see it lingering just beneath the surface. Watching his eyes, I suddenly had an idea of how adults can hold on to a feeling for very long periods of time, long after the event is finished, long after cards have been sent and apologies made and everyone else had moved on. Adults were pack rats of old, useless emotions.

But of course, the thing that makes this book truly stand out are the amazing illustrations, side notes, maps and diagrams in the margins of the story. Young T.S. shows us that maps are far more than a way to navigate from point A to point B, but a way of making meaning of all that we see. From observations of loneliness on the streets of Chicago to a diagram of the overzealous fist pump that his brother used to celebrate small victories in his life, T.S. shows us all that can be learned through careful observation.
While some mature high school readers might enjoy this book, I think that readers with more distance from the transition to adulthood will be better able to look back and laugh, cry, and appreciate the journey of T.S. Spivet.

View all my reviews >>

Going Bovine, by Libba Bray

2009-07-16T07:48:00.002-04:00

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fans of the Gemma Doyle series may be disappointed by this mad-cow-stoner-turned-hero story, but having spent far too much time around teen boys (15 years as a middle school teacher), I found this book to be hysterical.

This quote pretty much sums up the deadpan, madcap adventures of Cameron Smith:

“As a kid, I imagined lots of different scenarios for my life. I would be an astronaut. Maybe a cartoonist. A famous explorer or rock star. Never once did I see myself standing under the window of a house belonging to some druggie named Carbine, waiting for his yard gnome to steal his stash so I could get a cab back to a cheap motel where my friend, a neurotic, death-obsessed dwarf, was waiting for me so we could get on the road to an undefined place and a mysterious Dr. X, who would cure me of mad cow disease and stop a band of dark energy from destroying the universe.”

Comparisons will be made to Alfred Kropp and Percy Jackson, but Doyle hits the nail on the head for a more mature audience with her pitch-perfect teen dialog, her lovable loser characters, and the absurdity of the situations they encounter. Add to that, the beautiful writing such as, “…the sky began to frown. The clouds knotted together the way my grandmother scowls at my grandfather when he passes wind and blames the dog,” and you get a fantastic read for teens.

Drug references, coarse language, and a sophisticated sense of humor, make this inappropriate for middle school, though many will probably seek it out on their own.

Going Bovine is scheduled for release on September 22, 2009 by Random House. All quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and may not reflect final editorial changes.

View all my reviews >>

Stranger things...

2009-06-19T18:01:00.002-04:00

Calling all librarians! What is the strangest thing you've ever found in the book return bin? Today was our last day of school and after lunch, some 8th grade boys returned a book that one of them had lost & paid for earlier in the year. Between the pages was a treasure trove of pepperoni, ketchup, napkins, etc. When asked, they told me it was a collaborative "legacy" they'd been working on all week.

Gotta love middle school.

At last! OverDrive audio books work on iPods! Sort of.

2009-06-08T14:58:00.005-04:00

Our state library's downloadable audio book system has just taken a giant step forward. OverDrive has recently started adding a few titles in MP3 format, which means that they'll work on Apple products such as the iPhone and iPod touch. Of course, when I went to take a look, I discovered that nearly every one of these titles was checked out. I guess they got the hint.

In a recent press release, OverDrive announced that their new OverDrive Media Console would be able to convert ALL of their titles to a friendlier format.

For most people, that is.

Yes, there's a catch. The new improved media console will work for people who use PC's, but will not work on Macs. Huh? The press release explains...

Once OverDrive Media Console version 3.2 is installed, most titles in a library’s OverDrive WMA Audiobook collection will instantly become iPod-compatible for users with Windows PCs. The growing collection of iPod-compatible, Mac®-friendly OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will still be available to help libraries better serve patrons with Apple computers.

Oh, well. At least it's a start.

Send kids to the sites you want them to see with Google Custom Search

2009-05-21T14:18:00.006-04:00

If you have a particular topic that your students will be researching on the web, consider creating a Google Custom Search to guide them. This fantastic tool allows you to hand pick the sites that you want returned or emphasized in Google search results. To create a custom search, simply choose the sites you want to include in search results and give your custom search a name and description.

One of the best features is that you can choose to only search the sites you've listed, or allow it to include other sites, but ranked lower than the ones you've selected in the results. Here's an example of a search I just created for research on American presidents. The students I'll be working with are comparing the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. I have included several sites such as the Library of Congress, the official White House web site, and PBS. Since I want students to also be able to find sites that focus on a specific president, I've selected "Search the entire web but emphasize included sites."

I would be concerned about overuse of Google Custom Searches, especially if it interferes with teaching students how to conduct good searches and evaluate sites. However, as training wheels for younger researchers, it's an incredible tool.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

2009-05-14T14:59:00.006-04:00

In a ripped-from-the-headlines teen thriller, young Kyra has just been chosen to be the seventh wife of her much older uncle who is an apostle in their polygamous cult. Her family (one father, three mothers, 20 siblings) reacts in horror, even though Prophet Child's tells them that this is a great honor and cause for celebration.

The emotional punch that this book packs is far beyond the ability of most middle schoolers to process, though they are the book's recommended audience. The physical violence and implied rape that is to come on Kyra's wedding night were difficult for me to stomach as an adult reader. I also worry that young readers will jump to the conclusion that this is what it was like at the Texas polygamist compound raided in 2008. While this may or may not be the case, younger readers would lack the background knowledge and critical thinking skills to separate speculation from reality in such an emotionally powerful story.

The book's main strength is its characters. Kyra's character will ring true to teen and adult readers as she discovers the outside world through books and weighs the decision that will place either her own safety or that of her family in jeopardy. What kept me going through this book was a need to know what would happen to her. Even minor characters, such as the driver of the library-on-wheels, have a depth not usually found in YA novels.

No doubt, this is a compelling and well-written story. Minor flaws such as Kyra's ability to turn on a cell phone, make a call, and use the phone's display to light her way stretch the bounds of plausibility, but the strength of the writing overcomes them. In spite of its quality, I will not be purchasing this for my middle school library. I do expect I'll have requests for it from my students, but I would recommend The Chosen One only for more mature teen readers.

A discussion guide is available from the publisher.

Flickr in the classroom

2009-05-13T09:42:00.005-04:00

Many of us probably use Flickr or other photo sharing sites to post our own pictures to share with family and friends, but how many of us are using Flickr in the classroom? The WORLD MAP feature is a great way to give students some context when viewing photos. When studying the spread of Islam in the Middle Ages, I was able to share this map with students. Not only did they get to see beautiful photographs, but they had an "ah ha!" moment when they could visualize how Islam spread through northern Africa.

Frustratingly, I can't always get this other feature to work, but when it does, it's pretty cool. When you first click on the Flickr world map, you should be brought to the tag map. As you can see, the day I captured this shot, photos from the release of the new Star Trek movie dominated the US tags. It's a great way to get a visual of what is going on in the world, though there is often bizarre stuff that isn't terribly appropriate for school!

Flickr GROUPS are also a great resource for teachers. These are often moderated and have varying criteria for submission and acceptance, so quality and reliability can vary. Some good examples of groups include the National Museum of American History, Vintage Advertising, WW II, and Science Nerd Depot. You can even search within a group. For example, a search of the WW II group for "women" brings up fantastic shots of women working in the factories.

If you are interested in using photos you find on Flickr, you'll need to get permission and cite your source. To locate photos that have already posted their permission status, visit the Creative Commons section of Flickr. There, you'll find a wide variety of photos available for use in print, for presentations, or for web sites.

As always with the web, it's nice to give back. Next time you take a picture worth sharing, post it and tag it on Flickr so others will be able to enjoy it.

Google Docs rocks!

2009-04-22T15:44:00.001-04:00

Hi Ms. Langton's students--
I'll put together something fancier, but here's a quick tutorial to get you started with Google Docs and your Works Cited page.

Google Docs rocks!

Saving Face

2009-04-19T07:42:00.004-04:00

Facebook is a fun tool that more and more adults are using to connect with friends and family, but it is not without its dangers. As web 2.0 guru John Herman advises, "never put anything on the web that you wouldn't want a three-year-old or your grandmother to see." That's great advice, but how can you control what other people put out there about you?

Facebook's default privacy settings allow friends of friends to have pretty liberal access to your profile. This is why, as a teacher, I will not allow students to friend me, nor will I accept friend request from colleagues who have students as their friends. I think that schools need to look at this issue and make sure they have policies in place, but until they do, it's up to the individuals to assess the boundaries of those that they friend.

The tutorial below shows how someone else's poor judgment in posting and tagging photos in Facebook can result in embarrassment for others. I hope you'll take a moment to watch and then visit your FB privacy settings and friend list to make any adjustments you may need in order to feel comfortable.

You can see a full-screen version of Saving Face here.

Quietube makes using online videos simple

2009-04-15T15:23:00.003-04:00

Quietube is a great tool for removing all the clutter from your typical YouTube page. Instead of seeing potentially inappropriate comments or distracting links to other videos, you'll get a plain white background so your audience can focus on the content you want them to see. Here's a really quick tutorial that will show you how it works, or just go to Quietube and try it out for yourself.

Free Ebooks for students and adults

2009-04-14T15:38:00.003-04:00

America.gov has several short and informative eBooks available on varying topics such as American literature, economics, popular music and more. Check it out.

Online college selection tools

2009-04-08T15:38:00.002-04:00

If you have children or students who will be headed off to college soon, then this recent Cnet post is a must-read for you. It profiles eleven sites that will guide prospective college students through their search.

RSS PART 3: creating custom feeds

2009-04-04T17:18:00.003-04:00

At last, as promised, here is part 3 of my RSS tutorial. If you're an RSS beginner, please go back to my first two tutorials found in March 2009 on this blog. If you're ready to create more advanced feeds, here you go. Have fun!

p.s. Isn't it time you subscribed to THIS blog? ;)

Tonight's homework

2009-04-01T20:33:00.007-04:00

Greetings, Ms. Langton's students. Please watch the tutorial, sign up for Diigo (if you didn't do so at school today), and download the toolbar/Diigolet. Once you have gotten set up, go to and request to join the group.
If you have any questions about what we went over in class today, you may also want to view my Diigo social bookmarking tutorial to see how it works.

Now, it's time for your homework. Visit my HOMEWORK list, read the instructions, and choose two sites to evaluate and add your own notes. You should be ready to discuss the sites you chose in class tomorrow. Good luck!
Mrs. Pearce

You can watch Getting_started_with_Diigo in a full screen version too.

Cite it right!

2009-03-28T10:17:00.005-04:00

It's research season here at Portsmouth Middle School. Here's a quick tutorial to get you started using online citation tools. It might be handy to have a Word (or Google Docs) document and CitationMachine.net both open before you begin.

Need to see a full screen version of Citing your sources with Citation Machine? You got it.

Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson

2009-03-25T15:31:00.003-04:00

In this new nonfiction book for young adults, Ryan Smithson recounts his journey from a high school junior watching with his classmates as the events of September 11, 2001 unfold, to frightened Army recruit headed off to boot camp, to seasoned veteran returning home after a tour of duty in Iraq.

Those who anticipate action. valor, and bloodshed will share in the author's surprise as he discovers that much of Army life is routine, mundane, and boring. His insights are candid and convincing as he relates some of the situations that left him confused, scared, and proud. Smithson admirably keeps his audience in mind--coarse language and vulgar humor, a part of Army life for many soldiers, is kept to a minimum.

The most emotionally wrenching scene in the book comes not in battle, but when Smithson and others must clean and strip two Humvees in which several soldiers were killed. Their response to the gravity is a morbid humor that, as Smithson explains, is the only way that they can cope with the human loss and continue on. It is these types of observations about life and growing up that will make this book a valuable addition to teen collections. I would recommend it for grades 8 and up.

For a list of web tool links...

2009-03-18T13:28:00.000-04:00

You can visit my Diigo list here.

A 21st Century Glossary

2009-03-18T13:04:00.001-04:00

As I prepare for a workshop I'm teaching on Friday, I've been thinking about all the new terms our language has acquired over the past ten years. Of course, some may disagree with some of my definitions, but the list reflects my understanding and use of these terms.

Here is the tip of the iceberg in no particular order. (Does this make me a bad librarian?)

Web 2.0—a term for the new ways that the web allows users to interact with, generate, and manipulate content.

RSS—Really Simple Syndication. (if only that were the case!) RSS allows users to subscribe to content that is regularly updated.

Aggregator—A tool such as Bloglines that pulls feeds from various web sites and brings them together in one place for the user’s convenience.

Social bookmarking—These tools enable users to bookmark sites that they can then access from any computer. Many people use it solely for this feature. The social aspect comes into play when users begin to look at each other’s bookmarks and discover new sites that they would like by exploring the bookmark lists of others.

Blog—A blog is an ongoing journal that a person keeps on the web and updates periodically. If you find a blogger who often has interesting/useful things to say, consider subscribing to the blog in your RSS aggregator. (Hint: you are reading a blog right now. Why not subscribe! There's a tutorial on how to do it in one of the very first posts on here.)

Podcast—Recording something digitally once and uploading it to the web is not a podcast! Like blogs, podcasts are ongoing endeavors that are updated daily/weekly/monthly/occasionally. Instead of a text format, podcasts are audio files that can be downloaded to an MP3 player or played directly from a computer.

Social networking—Most people think of MySpace and FaceBook when they think of social networking. Social networking is involved in many Web 2.0 tools. It is simply a way for users to find other users that they wish to associate with and follow each other’s content. Whether it is personal updates, professional research, or information/opinions on a particular topic, social networking allows like minds to connect online.

Wiki—A wiki is a web document that is written collaboratively by many people. The most commonly known wiki is Wikipedia. The collaborative nature of wikis makes it difficult to verify the source or validity of information, but allows a broader spectrum of information to be made available.

Tags—Tags are a way of marking content on the web to make it easier to find. The most obvious example would be on Flickr where users can tag photos so that they become searchable. In some cases, tags must be entered as all one word, so you may see tags such as portsmouthmiddleschool.

Bookmarking and highlighting the web with Diigo

2009-03-16T15:55:00.001-04:00

If you want your students to really interact with the sites they visit, try downloading the Diigo toolbar. It allows users to not only bookmark favorite pages, but to highlight and annotate them. Perfect for research projects! I'm going to try it out with some 8th graders who are learning about assessing web sites. They will need to find, assess, and mark up three web sites to show me that they understand the red flags that indicate a web site is not reliable.

Here's a quick rundown of Diigo. As always, a full-screen version of Getting_started_with_Diigo is available.

Google achieves interplanetary domination

2009-03-16T09:22:00.000-04:00

Need driving directions from Olympus Mons to Mare Erythraeum? Check out Google Maps new and improved maps of the surface of Mars. Okay, so they don't offer driving directions (yet), but with 3-D flyover tools and a "live from Mars" camera feed, who needs directions?

Learn more in this Cnet article.

Lesson of the day

2009-03-15T15:17:00.001-04:00

When you delete something from your flash drive, it's gone. No, really. Gone. No recycle bin, no "are you sure you want to do this, stupid?" Just gone. GONE.

It's a lesson I'll only have to learn once.

Saving in Open Office for Microsoft Office use

2009-03-14T17:56:00.001-04:00

Our school just got new netbooks and they are loaded with Open Office. Since the rest of the computers in the building run Microsoft Office 97, it's important that people save their files correctly if they want to later open them on a different computer. This tutorial will show you how.

See a full-screen version of Saving in Open Office for MS Office use here.

Lookybook

2009-03-13T10:44:00.001-04:00

SAD DAY! LookyBook is no longer. Nothing like being on the tail end of a good thing. Bummer.

A colleague just sent me a link to Lookybook, an online picture book reader. A click turns the page, so it's easy for kids to navigate on their own. It probably won't get much use here at our middle school, but is a great tool for parents and caregivers.

You can look at the newest books, highest rated books, or try out the book tumbler that presents a different random selection every time. Registered users can create their own bookshelf to keep track of favorites.

Those who know me will not be surprised that the first book I went to was I Get Around, the story of a cute dog named Rover who looks an awful lot like someone I know.

Outfoxed!

2009-03-11T15:22:00.001-04:00

Really? You're still using Internet Explorer?

By clicking on the tutorial below, you are taking the first step: admitting you have a problem. Don't worry. We'll get through this together...

Need to see the fine print? Click here for a full-screen version.

UPDATE--in all fairness, here's a link to a Cnet review of the latest version of Internet Explorer. I'll still be over here on Firefox, but it's nice to see IE is catching up with the times.

Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

2009-03-11T14:44:00.000-04:00

I love it when the kids introduce me to books I've never heard of. Such is the case with Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, author of the Underland Chronicles series. It's not the most original premise--a futuristic distopian society where people are kept in poverty and entertained by kill-or-be-killed reality television shows--but the characters and plot pacing make this one a big hit with kids. In this case, the government randomly selects a boy and a girl from each of twelve districts to play in a televised game of blood sport. When Katniss's younger sister's name is drawn, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. A blend of adventure, moral dilemma, romance, and girl power will give this book broad appeal.

RSS tutorials

2009-03-11T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've just discovered the wonders of Jing, a tool that has allowed me to create these RSS tutorials. Check them out to see what a feed reader is and to learn step-by-step how to set up and use a feed reader. Part 3 of this tutorial, how to create custom feeds, is coming soon.

Need to see the fine print? Click here and here for full-screen versions.