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I Heart You You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Posted by bj neary on November 15, 2009 at 12:48pm

I just love novels in verse and Ava has just lost her boyfriend, Jackson in a freak accident. She feels responsible and is now "feeling" he is still with her. The spare words are perfect in describing Ava's profound love for Jackson. She has a strong support system with family and friends but wants to just "sleep" or stay close to home to be with him. I ached for her desolation, loved her friends for supporting her and rooted for her to find happiness and peace without Jackson.

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Posted by bj neary on November 15, 2009 at 12:46pm

Alice lost her mom to cancer many years ago, dad remarries and Alice feels he doesn't spend enough time with her and now she has a half sister, Ivy. Spending time with her boyfriend, Blaze, going to church with her best friend and playing her guitar, Alice is doing her best to live life and remember her mom's awesomeness. A Thanksgiving trip to visit relatives changes abruptly as a snowstorm strands Alice, her stepmother and baby, Ivy. I loved Alice's pluck and determination, her teen moodiness and drama, and her reawakened sense that change is good and she wants to share herself with this new family. I loved this novel in verse and highly recommend it.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Posted by bj neary on November 15, 2009 at 12:44pm

Ouch, this book hurts. I put off reading it for a long time because of the content and I am not usually like that. Also, I have so enjoyed Elizabeth Scott's books up to this point and this one is so totally different. Alice, is a living dead girl, abducted at age ten and brutalized over and over by Ray for the last five years, and now as we read her story, past and present---she really is a living dead girl, a robot who suffers at the hands of the nastiest pedophile you will ever want to meet. It really makes you afraid to let your children out of your sight, ever....A compelling read, but one I would have definitely preferred not to experience.....

Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson

Posted by bj neary on November 15, 2009 at 12:41pm

James likes to rant and rave against society's ills---hence the title---he wants all cars gone because of the damage they do,his father doesn't understand him at all and wants to buy him a car for college. James is not even thinking of college. I liked the way the reader can see all of James' anger, angst,humor and wisecracks. We see his Sadie, sweet, concerned, active and passionate about her causes. James' writing is great, so many of the papers he submits to his teacher are hilarious and his teacher's comments show he knows how to get masterpeices from James time and time again. Where his exgrilfriend Sadie is concerned, James is still totally in love with her, it is James' anger, negativity and mean spirit that ended their relationship before, but time has passed, James sees an opening when Sadie and her current boyrfiend break up and even though he crashed and burned before, James knows he will ineveitably be with Sadie again. But how will Sadie & James be, how will James be when he is with Sadie? Totally different from Paranoid Park, but I enjoy Blake Nelson's books and he gets teens with all of their baggage.

Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson

Posted by bj neary on November 15, 2009 at 12:41pm

James likes to rant and rave against society's ills---hence the title---he wants all cars gone because of the damage they do,his father doesn't understand him at all and wants to buy him a car for college. James is not even thinking of college. I liked the way the reader can see all of James' anger, angst,humor and wisecracks. We see his Sadie, sweet, concerned, active and passionate about her causes. James' writing is great, so many of the papers he submits to his teacher are hilarious and his teacher's comments show he knows how to get masterpeices from James time and time again. Where his exgrilfriend Sadie is concerned, James is still totally in love with her, it is James' anger, negativity and mean spirit that ended their relationship before, but time has passed, James sees an opening when Sadie and her current boyrfiend break up and even though he crashed and burned before, James knows he will ineveitably be with Sadie again. But how will Sadie & James be, how will James be when he is with Sadie? Totally different from Paranoid Park, but I enjoy Blake Nelson's books and he gets teens with all of their baggage.

Brainypics: Funniest Photo Winners

Posted by Jack on November 15, 2009 at 10:12am

Here are the 10 "Funniest Photo" Winners. You'll notice that we have an affinity for picking Brainypics where the creators weren't afraid of getting a bit goofy (kinda like us). Enjoy!

Congrats to Maddio28, Drewprice11, Sarahskewl, Countrymusiclover, Isaac12, Bsaia, A. Damitz, B. Rudy, E. Knezz, and C. Vandersnick for these Brainypics. And thanks again to everyone who participated by creating, voting and leaving comments.If you'd still like a chance to win iTunes and compete for our $200 Grand Prize, we've got 3 more weeks of our Brainypics contests left! This week's theme: Brainypics about Brainypics. Click here to learn more. :]

Clank's friend Dexter was like totally impressed at AASL

Posted by Deb Schiano on November 10, 2009 at 3:18am

Can you blame him!

Week 7 Brainypics Contest: Your Funniest Photos

Posted by Jack on November 9, 2009 at 11:58am

Thus far, we’ve accepted images from everywhere so long as you document the source. But this week, the students are the source!For Week 7 of our Brainypics contest, we want their funniest photos of just about anything: their uncle Mort sweating it up on the dance floor, a mobile pic they took of you stuffing your face in the cafeteria... whatever. Just be original and have fun with it.Get started and go to http://brainyflix.com.-JackP.S. - We’ve got extra iTunes songs to give out!!! Instead of picking 5 winners this week, we will have 10. Awesome, right?

K12Online2009 LAN Party

Posted by Durff on November 9, 2009 at 10:20am

Please join us on November 18, 2009 at 22:30GMT/3:30pmPST/ 4:30pmMST/5:30pmCST/6:30pmEST for a live event of the 2009 K12Online Conference

On November 18, the K12Online Conference is hosting a LAN party from 6:30PM to 8:30PM EST. We invite everyone to gather at the LAN party site with colleagues in order to view two past conference presentations and then engage in lively discussions in the EdTechTalk chatroom. The following presenters will be in attendance.6:30 – 7:15 Second Life: K-20 Educators Exploring Virtual Worlds – Panel

Kevin is a K-4 Technology Facilitator at Northfield Community School in Northfield, NJ. He works closely with classroom teachers on engaging projects across the curriculum. Kevin also teaches online at Walden University’s Graduate School of Education. He has been exploring Second Life since March 2007 thanks to a $10,000 Faculty Excellence grant and expects to publish his findings in the fall.

Sylvia Martinez is president of Generation YES, working to empower students in K-12 schools through digital technology. Sylvia has designed educational games, curriculum, and online experiences for teachers and students. Sylvia speaks and writes on subjects such as the use of technology, simulations and games to enhance educational opportunities and enable youth voice.6:45 – 7:30 Release the HoundsChris Harbeck teaches grade 8 math to approximately 140 students each year. He has been teaching middle

school students for over a decade and is in his third year of using 2.0 applications and “21st Century Learning” in his classroom. Despite the fact (or more realistically because of the fact) that math is one of those subjects students often reflect back on with distaste, fear or indifference, Chris has moved from teaching both social studies and math to the one subject. He has been involved in development of the middle years math curriculum at the divisional and provincial level. With his strong focus on conceptual understanding, Chris has discovered that using 2.0 tools and applications make math fun and interesting. An encouraging trend has emerged: students do not run away and saying “I hate math”; they love to do assignments and have started to see the beauty in math.The EdTechTalk community will host this event at http://www.edtechtalk.com/live.For questions or more information, contact Susan Van Gelder, Live Events Committee, at susanvg@mac.com or on Twitter at @k12online.

Brainypics: "Imaginary Conversation" Winners

Posted by Jack on November 9, 2009 at 9:00am

Good job, everybody! Your students created over 540 Brainypics last week, which beat the previous record by about 100 pics. Wow. And we were quite impressed by those students who were up for the challenge of imagining fake conversations. Clearly, they are as crazy as we are, if not moreso. Hahaha.Here are 5 words to help on the SAT & ACT courtesy of our very deserving winners. Enjoy!

EDIT: In case you didn't understand this Brainypic, Brittney is being fatuous for thinking that fatuous means fat. Get it? Pretty clever!

The creators of these Brainypics were Emilychat, Lsliker, Ben Fiat, Drewprice11 and Dynamofan999, who has been submitting Brainypics for a few weeks now without ever getting picked but finally broke through with persistence and a rad Brainypic :DIf you are bummed that your students did not get picked, don't be! They've got 4 more weeks to earn iTunes and compete for our $200 Grand Prize.This week's theme: Your Funniest Photos. Yep, we want photos the kids have taken, and the photos can be of anything: your dog chasing its tail, the nasty food served in your cafeteria, whateva. Just make it yours and make it funny http://Brainyflix.com.

The Bloggers' Cafe - Join the UnConference!

Posted by gwyneth jones on November 3, 2009 at 1:00pm

Poor Clank...He can't go to the Bloggers' Cafe: The Unconference at #AASL2009 in Charlotte, NC!

But Wait! Clank Has a Plan! Part Deux: Clank & Cecily

Hope to see you there! Like Xtranormal? Check out my Animation Studios Wiki for More Info!

Week 6 Brainypics Contest: Imaginary Conversations

Posted by Jack on November 2, 2009 at 8:00am

Say what?For week 6, we are asking for Brainypics where the sentence is what somebody is saying in an imaginary conversation that is happening in the picture. Just as you pick the word, picture and sentence, you get to come up with the conversation, too. The sillier, the better, of course. :]A little confused? Here are some examples I came up with to help you in your kids in their quest for iTunes and those dolla dolla billz.

Good luck!!! >>>>> Brainyflix.com

Brainypics Halloween Winners

Posted by Jack on November 2, 2009 at 5:57am

Thanks to everyone who got their students to create, vote for & comment on Brainypics last week. We received over 450 new flashcards! The kids must really love their vocabulary (or iTunes).Here are the 5 words for the SAT and ACT courtesy of last week's winners: jberestovoy, kody AND CHRIS, soccerrulz_93, vazquezd and libbrown.

P.S. - Don't be disappointed if your students didn't get picked! We are only at the halfway mark, so they have another 5 weeks to try to win iTunes and compete for our $200 Grand Prize.This upcoming week's contest: Imaginary Conversations. Create a sentence which is part of an imaginary conversation that is happening in the picture. Here are some examples of what we mean.Good luck! >>>>> Brainyflix.com

Flatclassroom09-3 SoundingBoards

Posted by mrsdurff on October 30, 2009 at 3:20pm

Every fall a global project takes place led by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis. This year over 220 students from 5 countries will research trends in information technology and globalization, write a collaborative research report on a wiki, and produce digital videos about their topics. Sound impressive? Well it is! These students are not graduate level university students. They are in high school. As part of this project, there is a peer reviewing process that takes place later this month. These Sounding Boards are simply a 1 -> 2 -> 3 review done by middle school students. I have my 7th graders do this. My students think they are reviewing college student work. When I show them pictures of the students involved, they are often incredulous. The global project has won ISTE's Online Learning Award (2007) and is included in Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat.Each team produces 5 videos to go with the research report. The wikis and the videos need you to peer review. Each Sounding Board classroom only has to review one team. Sign up on the Flatclassroom page (scroll down) or if you prefer contact me and I will sign you up. I have found my kids love watching the videos. I like to make a wikisite for my classroom and have them do the 1 -> 2 -> 3 reviews that Kim Cofino recommends.So come volunteer! Let's overwhelm the project with our middle school enthusiasm! Navigate to the FlatClassroom09-3 Sounding Boards page and read over the description. Sign up or contact me to do it. Thanks in advance!!

New Children's Book

Posted by Nathan Miller on October 28, 2009 at 12:48pm

I have recently published a new children's book that has a librarian as the protagonist. Kids of all ages should enjoy this 116 page comical chapter book with questions at the end. For more information visit Authorhouse.com, Barnes and Noble, Joseph Beth, or Amazon.com and search for THE OFFICIAL LIBRARIAN: BESSY'S BACK, by Nathan Miller..General information:by Miller, NathanBinding: PaperbackPublisher: AuthorhousePublish Date: 10/2009ISBN: 1449023916ISBN-13: 9781449023911DescriptionBeware of GIANT CATS!!! Did you ever have one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong? Well, if you have you can relate to Bessy Beebody. Her name might sound silly, but she takes her new job very seriously. After having a tough time getting to work and meeting a boss who reminds her of Santa, Bessy struggles to get her school library that has been left in a mess cleaned up and in order before she has the public join her to see the original copy of a very famous book. Bessy finds her job is not an easy one as she has a gorrilla, a wild bird, and a teacher with bad breath interrupt her progress. As if Bessy didn't have enough stress already, she begins getting some communications from strange places, but she'll need all the help she can get if she is to solve the mystery she is forced to take on as the "Official Librarian."

Week 4 Brainypics Winners

Posted by Jack on October 25, 2009 at 9:30am

Last week was a great turn out for Week 4 of our Brainypics contest. The kids went flat-out bonkers with the TV theme, and we received over 200 new flashcardsThat said, picking the winners was tougher than it'd ever been before. Here are the 5 winners, helping their peers learn tough SAT & ACT vocab: paradox <3, Ben F, jmullooly, Kelly & bott_geneseohs for these flashcards.NOTE: We still have 6 more weeks of Brainypics fun. Next week's theme: what else? Halloween! You can participate by going to Brainyflix.com.

You can see more Brainypics and our original videos here at Brainyflix.com.

Wiki or blog for student book reviews?

Posted by Susan Harari on October 25, 2009 at 7:38am

Does anyone have a successful wiki, blog, ning etc that students have used to share book reviews? Are the examples public, so that others can view/share?

Week 5 Brainypics Theme: Halloween

Posted by Jack on October 24, 2009 at 5:00pm

We want to celebrate Halloween, Brainyflix-style. We're looking for Brainypics with tricks, treats, great costumes (not so great costumes), pumpkin carving, candy gobbling & more.We'll pick the 5 best Brainypics submitted between Monday and Sunday at noon to compete for our cash prize. Even if your kids don't get picked, remember that they can earn an iTunes song for every 5 Brainypics they create. We have plenty of gifts to go around, so spread the word and get started at Brainyflix.com.

Week 4 Brainypics Theme: TV (Really)

Posted by Jack on October 19, 2009 at 5:00am

Each week we try to have a theme for the Brainypics Flashcard Contest. Inspired by a couple of our users for their Brainypics about "The Office" and "Saturday Night Live", we figured we might as well indulge in good ole fashion veggin' time...This week's theme: Grab an image from one of your favorite (or not favorite) TV shows and give us a Brainypic flashcard!!! Go to Brainyflix to participate.:]

Brainypics Week 3 Winners

Posted by Jack on October 19, 2009 at 5:00am

Root-doot-doot-doot-da-dooo! Congrats to ipopstar, jkollar, paco416, Marina, and tennisgirl101 for the top 5 Brainypics from last week! They now qualify to compete for our $200 Grand Prize and have also earned an iTunes song as an extra bonus.You can participate, too! We'll pick 5 Brainypics each between NOW and DEC 7th. We'll also give out iTunes song to our top contributors (1 iTunes for every 5 Brainypics flashcards). Go to http://brainyflix.com.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.