Newell-Fonda School Library

Best Bets in Books for all Ages - January

2012-01-17T13:38:00.002-06:00

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/new/months-best-bets-books?utm_source=newsletter01.12.12&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feature2
As kids get older, they develop their own tastes and are always looking for something new. So we're starting a new monthly feature to highlight a few books for different ages -- some exceptional titles that could be the perfect thing to perk your kid's interest, get your reader hooked on a new author, or rediscover an old favorite. Here are our picks for January:
An outstanding picture book for kids 6 and up is Crouching Tiger, the latest by Ying Chang Compestine, author of the middle-grade novel Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. A young Chinese-American boy gains new respect for his heritage when his grandfather, visiting from China, teaches him tai chi and gives him an important role in the Chinese New Year parade. Superb illustrations by Yan Nascimbene underscore the boy's emotional journey from resistance to pride.
For middle graders, there's Anne Nesbet's The Cabinet of Earths, a fantasy adventure that finds an American girl and her brother adjusting to their new life in Paris when they run into a heap of weirdness and danger -- and magic.
For teens, there's the unusual high school romance post mortem in Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (who also wrote the A Series of Unfortunate Events series as Lemony Snicket). In this new novel, a girl sends her boyfriend a box filled with mementos from their relationship that help explain why they fell in love ... and why they fell apart.

The School Library Link May Newsletter

2011-05-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

The May issue of the Library Link includes information about ebooks and the importance of developing a love of reading in your child.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue7_final.pdf

The School Library Link March Newsletter

2011-03-08T11:23:00.002-06:00

The School Library Link offers parents a great deal of information on topics for their children involving technology and information access.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue6_final.pdf

The School Library Link February Newsletter

2011-02-14T12:58:00.003-06:00

This issue of The School Library Link has information about copyright and the creative commons copyright.

English Edition

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue5_final1.pdf

Spanish Edition

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue5_spanish.pdf

Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources

2011-02-10T10:20:00.000-06:00

Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources by David Kapuler

Permanent link

There are a ton of resources for educators and students around the web, but it would be very time consuming wading through the offerings to find what suits you. So I've created a list of my picks for best educational resources. However, that doesn't mean there aren't others also qualified to be listed. I'd love to hear feedback on which sites you feel have educational value so that we can create an even better repository of websites!

Thinkfinity - One of the most popular educational resource sites on the web. Created by Verizon Foundation with 1000s of lesson plans, interactive tools, etc.
Teachers.net - A wonderful site with lesson plans created by teachers for teachers. A ton of classroom projects in all subjects and grade levels can be found here too.
Edhelper - A great collection of educational resources on all subject areas. This is a paid service for a low cost which can be purchased in teacher packs of five as well.
Shmoop - One of my favorite sites for education. A very fun and friendly site with a variety of resources such as links, lesson plans, guides, etc.
teAchnology - 1000s of lesson plans can be found here as well as other resources on holidays, events, etc.
Super Teacher Worksheets - A massive list of free printable worksheets for teachers on a number of subject areas.
Educational World - A great site with lesson plans and other materials for teachers.
TeachAde - A social network designed for educators with lots of free educational materials and a beautiful user interface.
Cybraryman - An excellent site with multiple links and resources for educators and students.
FREE - Free Resources for Educational Excellence. This site has it all -- lessons, videos, documents and more.

David Kapuler is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment. For more information about his work, contact him atdkapuler@gmail.com and read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com

Best Project Based Learning Sites

2011-01-04T14:15:00.000-06:00

Top 7 Project Based Learning Sites
by Grant Zimmerman

Helpful Project Based Learning Tools

Sometimes readers want us to cut to the chase and just point them in the right direction. This looks to be one of those important times. I looked back over the past couple years’ worth of my blogs for Digital Learning Environments and –thankfully—found what I expected. My conversations elucidate the passion I have for thinking and learning in an environment that is active, collaborative, and authentic. It does me no good learning about the physics of hammering a nail into a pine board unless I find myself needing to do just that—hammer a nail. There is way too much involved in swinging a hammer to talk about here, but as we begin finding a way to shortcut the chase, you have to swing a hammer repeatedly and with purpose in order to understand how it works. Then again you could just rent an air compressor and really cut to the chase.

The Magic and Rigor of Paideia from Grant Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Two ideas take shape here. First, something that seems really easy, like hammering a nail, takes more practice and perseverance that it looks like it should on the surface. What looks easy often isn’t. Second, learn from yourself and your colleagues. Because the nail rockets off the edge of the hammer’s head or you miss it completely doesn’t compel you to give up and stop trying. You keep trying till you get it right. After all, you are trying to secure two boards to each other. Practice with thought and motivation.

Jumping back to my passion for thinking and learning, I have found over my many years working with students of all ages—from pre-school to adults—we want to think and learn in authentic, active environments and work with other people at the same time. The same conditions exist whether the class is face-to-face or online. The more complex the assignment the more authentic, active, and collaborative it should be. So as we plan intellectual, complex assignments, we should also be planning how the students will work as a team. We can teach collaborative skills just as we can teach reading skills. One effective way to teach the skills of teamwork is to have a group of students revise an already prepared assignment. The students rewrite an essay, a script, PPT, video, text message, dialogue, etc. using a guiding protocol that helps with the content. Remember the focus is placing the students in a collaborative setting in which the focus of the lesson is to collaborate. Perhaps, the content should even be about why collaboration is important and what is necessary to make a team work successfully.

Perhaps for us teachers and administrators, we might schedule some faculty meetings or professional development days learning how to build high quality, authentic, collaborative units in which the students build products or present performances that show what they have learned? Is this possible?

PBL Caveat

We have to coach, guide, push, teach, direct, suggest, and even demand actions from our students. Some students will require more and different guidance than others. Project Based Learning does not mean turning the students loose to learn on their own. The opposite actions hold more truth. These top 7 web sites about Project Based Learning will interest you, teach you, and maybe—not only answer some of your questions—but spark you into asking your own important questions.

PBL-Online.org, http://pbl-online.org

· Once registered search for units or create your own.

Project Based Learning Checklists, http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/index.shtml

· Create your own PBL rubrics that define high quality work and collaboration.

Edutopia, http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

· Useful site with videos, blogs, and information

Learn NC, http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4753

·The premier location for online coursework and classes.

Buck Institute ,http://www.bie.org/index.php/site/PBL/overview_pbl/

·One of the granddaddy’s of PBL. Good place for protocols to help in planning.

National Paideia Center, http://www.paideia.org

· Originators and founding creators of the Paideia Project. The Paideia Project is a unit of study that leads to a student production or performance of real value to an audience outside the classroom. It is designed specifically to create relevant classroom work that connects the standardized curriculum to the larger world in which your students live. Includes the Paideia Seminar.

Internet4Classrooms, http://www.internet4classrooms.com/project.htm

· Explanations and links to tried and tested web sites for students. An indispensible collection when you are trying to cut to the chase.

Grant Zimmerman is the Senior Education Consultant withKnowledge Network Solutions—Leaders in Technology Integration in Schools. Grant is also on the faculty of The National Paideia Center at the University of North Carolina. He leads educators in Professional Development sessions on the Paideia Seminar, the Paideia Project, and Technology Integration. You can reach Grant atgzimmerman@northcarolina.edu.

Top 10 Ways 21st Century Schools Can Protect Themselves from Copyright Violation

2010-12-16T10:23:00.002-06:00

Educators as well as students must have a clear understanding of copyright regulations so that not only can they avoid committing violations themselves, they can also protect their own work from being used out of context unlawfully. Here are some of the chief ways that 21st-century schools, educators, and students can safeguard themselves.

10. Be mindful that copyright regulations apply to various media.“As a passive reminder that copyright laws apply to virtually all copying,” says expert on copyright law and author Carol Simpson, “get stickers similar to those that you find on copy machines and put them on all equipment capable of making copies.”

9. When using video, get permission or licenses. “One of the most frequent causes of cease-and-desist letters to schools is showing entertainment films that are not tied to the curriculum,” Simpson says. “Such showings require permission from the copyright owner or payment of royalties because they are nonexempt public performances.”

8. If it’s a consumable— that is, something that is destroyed or altered by being used for its intended purpose (and thus is intended for a single use only)— don’t copy it. Schools often get in trouble when teachers make photocopies of tear-out sheets in student handbooks.

7. Lead by example. Instructors have to cite the sources of the materials they use in handouts and be sure they have the necessary permissions when creating course packets, in order to model proper behavior for students.

6. Just because it’s easily accessible doesn’t mean you can use it freely. Material on the Internet is not exempt from copyright policies.

5. Student copyright should not be overlooked. Schools should put the same effort into protecting students’ work that they do into not committing violations with more-commercial resources, such as textbooks and entertainment.

4. Unpublished work requires citation. Even if work has not been formally published, it still has to be cited when referenced in other work.

3. Utilize your resources. Use software programs that check the originality of students’ work, such as Turnitin.

2. Policies must be in place. Without the proper policies and procedures for punishing copyright offenses in position, the whole concept of copyright becomes moot. Educators and students alike have to understand copyright policy and the ramifications of violating it.

1. Teach students the importance of academic honesty. If students understand the fundamentals of academic integrity, including the value of producing original work, obeying copyright policies will become second nature to them.

—Renee Bangerter is a professor of English at Saddleback College,
Mission Viejo, CA.

The School Library Link December 2010

2010-12-07T11:19:00.002-06:00

Learn about Digital Literacy and how parents can help students learn how to navigate through the vast amounts of digital information available.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue4_final.pdf

Safe Internet Searching for Students

2010-12-02T13:17:00.003-06:00

Top 10 Safe Search Engines by David Kapuler

Permanent link

The other day I received an email from an educational listserv requesting safe search engines for students. After thinking about it (and having just done a list on Top 10 Search Engines other than Google) I was able to come up with a number of them that meet this need.

However, keep in mind when dealing with students and surfing the internet that no site is 100% safe -- even when using filtered search engines. That being said, when choosing search engines for students' use, consider starting with following sites:

Sweet Search - A group of experts, including librarians and teachers, evaluates all content from this search engine.
Top Marks - A great site developed in the UK by teachers who approved everything on this site.
Quintura for Kids - An innovative search engine for kids that displays results in a cloud-based style. Also, has apps for mobile devices.
Kid Rex - Wonderful search engine designed around Google's safe search. Very nice visual appeal for kids.
Ask Kids - Search engine designed for kids ages 6-12.
Yahoo Kids - Previously known as Yahooligans, Yahoo Kids is a fun site for kids to gather information on the internet.
Famhoo - Family-friendly search engine that filters all content.
One Key - Developed in 1996, One Key, in collaboration with Google, does a nice job of creating a safe search engine.
Google (safe search) - Google has a safe-search setting which can be locked into place at the browser level for those that use Firefox.
Nettrekker - Great paid site for searching the web -- not only for students but for teachers as well.

The School Library Link Newsletter

2010-11-30T09:47:00.002-06:00

The November 2010 Issue - School Library Link. Information for parents about award winning books to share with your children. http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol2_issue3_final.pdf

The School Library Link Newsletter

2010-02-04T09:45:00.004-06:00

The School Library Link this month shows the importance of libraries in our schools. There are direct links to raising students scores on standardized tests with having good school libraries. Read more to find out the facts.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol1_issue6_final.pdf

Adding Captions to YouTube Videos

2010-01-22T13:31:00.001-06:00

How to add captions to your YouTube videos
Samuel Axon writes: “Once you’ve uploaded a video to your YouTube account, you have two options for generating subtitles for the video: You can use the CaptionTube web app that Google has created, or you can upload a transcript you make yourself and use Google’s speech-recognition technology to automatically assign the right times to each caption. In either case, you’ll end up with a text file that you can edit to make corrections and viewers will be able to either read the captions in their native language or translate them on the fly when watching your video.”...

Guided Homework Help Online - Free

2010-01-22T13:27:00.002-06:00

Homework help is just a few clicks away, thanks to the New York Public Library's (NYPL) groundbreaking new interactive Dial-A-Teacher Whiteboard. Four nights a week, the online program connects students and teachers in real time through a secure digital whiteboard, where they can chat about assignments and draw their responses on the shared board. Check out the link for more information.

Library Resources Wiki

2009-12-02T15:27:00.001-06:00

I found a great wiki online with lots of great Information Literacy resources for teachers and librarians. Please check it out.

http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/

School Library Link Monthly Newsletter December

2009-12-01T09:17:00.005-06:00

One of the goals of school libraries is to support and enhance curriculum learning. In fact, it's arguably the main goal, and it's achieved in large part through collection development, reading programs, and collaboration with teachers.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol1_issue4_final.pdf

Media Smarts: Kids Learn How To Navigate the Multimedia World

2009-11-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

School Library Link

2009-11-13T11:42:00.004-06:00

November newsletter from the school library for parents. Information about online technologies.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol1_issue3_final1.pdf

Article From Edutopia on Digital Literacy

2009-11-13T08:15:00.002-06:00

A Program Teaches Students What to Believe in the Digital World
The News Literacy Project helps secondary school students separate fact from fiction online.

http://www.edutopia.org/media-information-news-literacy-project

21st Century Learners

2009-10-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

21st Century Learner and the Iowa Core Curriculum

View more presentations from twaterman.

School Library Link

2009-10-29T15:03:00.001-05:00

Monthly newsletter from the school library on topics of interest to parents.

http://www.theschoollibrarylink.com/storage/thelink_vol1_issuefinal.pdf

Creative Commons

2009-10-19T15:39:00.002-05:00

Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.[1] The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators.

Internet Safety Video

2009-09-24T16:00:00.001-05:00

Here's a great video to help teach your child about Internet Safety.

Welcome!

2009-09-24T15:57:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Library Blog! More good stuff coming soon.

Newell-Fonda School Library

Best Bets in Books for all Ages - January

The School Library Link May Newsletter

The School Library Link March Newsletter

The School Library Link February Newsletter

Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources

Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources by David Kapuler

Best Project Based Learning Sites

Top 7 Project Based Learning Sitesby Grant Zimmerman

Top 10 Ways 21st Century Schools Can Protect Themselves from Copyright Violation

The School Library Link December 2010

Safe Internet Searching for Students

Top 10 Safe Search Engines by David Kapuler

The School Library Link Newsletter

The School Library Link Newsletter

Adding Captions to YouTube Videos

Guided Homework Help Online - Free

Library Resources Wiki

School Library Link Monthly Newsletter December

Media Smarts: Kids Learn How To Navigate the Multimedia World

School Library Link

Article From Edutopia on Digital Literacy

21st Century Learners

School Library Link

Creative Commons

Internet Safety Video

Welcome!

Top 7 Project Based Learning Sites
by Grant Zimmerman