When is Good for you?

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

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.

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• Reif Larsen, omnicurious cartographer (nationalpost.com)

Going Bovine, by Libba Bray

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.





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Stranger things...

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.