This may be useful in teaching how to write an article for Wikipedia:
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2010/04/02/using-video-to-recruit-new-wik...
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I really enjoyed Melody! She was feisty, she loved Mrs V (she got Melody). About Mr. Dimming, I really thought he was horrible, have WE as a people, not advanced enough to recognize that all students deserve a chance? I think he was deceitful and those other two girls, Claire and Molly, well they could be any teen today (even though they are in 5th grade), isn't that sad! It was heartbreaking when they all conspired--even Rose---to leave her behind, yes I know what they all said, but their actions spoke louder than words, and I was rooting for Melody when she confronted them and then whirled around in her chair and sped off when she gave it to them, you go Melody!
But I was tormented by the scene with her mother and the rain and Penny! It really showed that Melody was trapped in her body and only a few people listened to her---Mrs V, Catherine--- even her parents couldn't figure out when Melody was trying to tell them something.
I think this book should be read by all teens from 5th grade on up---it would be a great form of sensitivity training---just by reading a book!
I willbe leaving Grandview June 29th for my new position at Rockland BOCES - Director of Information Resources and Learning Technologies. We are looking for a Library Media Specialist to fill my position here at Grandview.
The space,technology, and support by building administrators make this an ideal place to work.
Here is a video of the library space.
Those who are interested can contact me via email or phone W: 845-577-6260. I amhappy to host visitors who may be interested.
To be considered, you will have to add your resume, cover letter etc. tothe Rockland BOCES OLAS System.
Sarah Chauncey
http://www.grandviewlibrary.org
http://www.digitalpencil.org
http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com
Twiitter: sachauncey
Second Life: Sanny Sweetwater
They changed the log-in. It now takes at least four steps until the contents of Beyond Books is accessed.
One cannot directly connect to the topical pages of this product. This discourages students from using this.
Has any one had realized this? If you have, it would probably be helpful to complain to the Apex Learning Company, publisher of Beyond Books.
Discovered new "Core Standards" proposed for all states in the US. It is useful to see how Research and Information Literacy are built right in, and also how they are articulated across grade levels.
"Research to Build Knowledge" strands are included in the Writing standards, e.g. Writing standard #8 for Gr. 6-12, "Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate and cite the information while avoiding plagiarism." ),.
This standard is articulated across grade levels on p. 42...good to see the recommended progression:
grade 6 students "Gather relevant information from multiple sources...assess the credibility of each...quote or paraphrase...others while avoiding plagiarism and documenting sources."
7th graders do all this but do so "using search terms effectively," and in addition they evaluate the accuracy of sources, and begin "following a standard format for citation."
8th graders are to be doing so "using advanced search features"
The scope and sequence is also a helpful guide in developing critical thinking skills: On p. 36, Reading standard:
grade 6 students "Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment",
while 7th graders "identify the stated and unstated premises of an argument and explain how they contribute to the conclusions reached,"
and 8th graders "Evaluate an argument's claims and reasoning as well as the degree to which evidence supports each claim."
There are also mentions to the necessity of incorporating multimedia into Speaking and Listening standards on p. 46, and the use of technology and the Internet "to produce, publish, and interact with others" in the Writing standards, on p. 39.
Today I discovered a Web site with lots of potential: http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/Home.html
It's similar to a Webquest kind of resource using Google Earth combined with teacher-uploaded pictures and reading questions for books read as a class. It's a neat idea worthy of looking at for other projects...I always wondered how to incorporate Google Earth with an academic project!
Questions for follow up:
--can it be used for student-made projects?
-------if so, have students write the questions to develop their questioning skills? (Carol Koechlin's advice in Q Tasks)
--is it best for books that involve a "road trip"?
--or perhaps best for historical fiction?
--similar application for foreign language classes?
--how does the uploading of pictures help/hinder the LitTrip?
--difficulty knowing where to click and what you're supposed to be looking at...would love a tutorial or something on its use with students
- iTouches in the library.
- A Scratch project being the best a student had ever worked on, and how it met AASL disposition standards of having students show adaptability and resilience when they couldn't figure it out.
- Glogster for multimedia posters, booktalks, etc.
- Books on Foot, a program to have students listen to audiobooks while walking on school campus and logging their steps online, meets NYS ELA standard for listening, PE standards and lifelong fitness, while promoting reading and author studies to boot.
- Google squared for a visual matrix of relevant articles/subtopics on a topic.
- Google Image (Advanced Search) can limit results to pictures "labeled for reuse" and thus not a copyright violation to use. Google Timeline (can't find how to get to it, wait til Ross Todd uploads his presentation to the SLMS conference Wiki) to visually chart when the most web pages/articles about a topic peaked.
- Start a guerrilla marketing information literacy campaign, complete with regularly-changing slogans for info lit principles/standards courtesy of sloganizer.net, use them on printed signs, bookmarks, widgets on your library page with voki and other avatar technologies. Oh, and gotta get that vocabulary sheet Paige Jaeger handed out to see if I can use it to help get teachers using the same terms as district librarians so we're using a common vocab... Lots to do!
- Catching up on my Knowledge Quests shows me I've got to get cracking...after assessing her need to hone her lesson design skills, Sarah Sindelar decided to join a book study group on "Understanding By Design" in Second Life and Moodle--what a great idea! And Mary Keeling described her district's 4th year implementing a standardized Inquiry Process complete with a scope and sequence document for its implementation K-5. Whew, what an enormous and praiseworthy undertaking!
- Also at the SLMS conference, Laura Boggs shared her award-winning student-made documentary, of which I was in awe of. But I happened to see her regional (Quasar III ) BOCES school library system's Inquiry Research Process documentation...and it seemed great. From their site, it looks like they rolled it out complete with presentations to faculty, etc. This is just what my district librarians are hoping to accomplish, so I've got to add this to the close-read list...
- Oh, and just found out that AASL published a book Empowering Learners and "Learning4Life" campaign to support its efforts in improving SL programs and integration of the new standards nationwide. It is the topic of the NYLA/SLMS Carol A. Kearney Leadership Retreat for 2010 in Ithaca, Aug. 2-3. I hope to attend but have to see if the kids and husband can make it without me for two nights!
- Now to figure out if Ning is the way to go to keep track of all these thoughts swirling around my head. Or should it be Evernote, which I recently learned about by following Will Richardson's Tweets, and which works on my iTouch but apparently syncs up to many devices (not sure if it'll work in school though)....
