PLN+Gems

= Articles, Guides, and Examples: =

Students Speak about Authentic Project Based Learning, from Tech&Learning.com. Students and teachers share their approaches and work - check out Lisa Thumann's Play, Design, Share site for ideas!

How the iPad2 Will Revolutionize Education. Shared on Best content in Diigo in Education. Not only interesting, but I just got an iPad2 and I'm ready to play!

How to Search YouTube Like a PRO with Google Advanced Operators. Shared on Best content in Diigo in Education.

Kindle Program Update and FAQs. Share on The Unquiet Library. Awesome tips and warnings for using the Kindle in education.

Twitter in the Classroom. Mostly college oriented, but still interesting. Shared on Best Content in Diigo in Education.

Can text-messaging improve student writing? Shared on ASCD SmartBrief.

A Personal Learning Network for Parents by David Andrade. Tips for helping parents to create their own PLNS - shared on Techlearning.com.

Are you speaking where people are listening? Shared by Doug Johnson on Blue Skunk Blog.

Inspired by Walt Whitman. A very inspiring video project. Shared on Neverendingsearch.

Where to start improving research assignments? A Good discussion on The Blue Skunk Blog.

Top 10 YouTube Goodies. Shared Joyce Valenza and Best content in teacher-librarians Diigo. Sites that edit, save, and allow you to view "safe" versions of YouTube videos.

911 Memorial Timeline. Very good educational resource. Also, a good tool for creating timelines.

BFTP: Why librarians should be in charge of educational technology. Another excellent Blue Skunk, Doug Johnson Blog entry.

Livebinders: AASL's 2010 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. Shared on Best content in teacher-librarians, Diigo.

OMGigapixel!: Google Art Project launches and it's beautiful! Shared on Neverendingsearch by Joyce Valenza.

Pursuing the perfect pathfinder platform. Joyce Valenza explores the best sites to use for pathfinder creation on her blog, the Neverendingsearch.

10 Things You Didn't Know Google Maps Could do. My favorite? Show Photos Take Nearby!

How to Build a more Beautiful Blog. Someday soon I'll need this!

Twitter4Teachers Wiki. Great list of educators who are on Twitter already!

Dr. Loopy's Profile on Teacher-Library Ning. He has awesome examples of student book reviews.

StoryTubes videos. Story Tubes contest for video book reviews.

Dewey Decimal Rap. Creative and worth taking a look at.

= Resources, Tools and Cool Sites: =

Elementary Library Routines Wiki Great resources when setting up your library.

Pathfinders on several different subjects. Great sharing among colleagues.

Dr. Loops's House of Fun: A Library Glog. Lots of great library resources!

Google Image Chart Editor. Create nice looking charts! This is in beta.

App Smart Extra: The (New) Best Android Photo App. Because I have a droid, and I love picture apps, and am sure this could be useful in the classroom one way or another! From NYT Technology.

Vizzle. Software for visual learning for special education. Best practices shared here: http://www.techlearning.com/article/37322.

Free eBooks! Shared on Best Content in Teacher-Librarians Diigo.

Copyright Kids. Introduce copy right to kids! Shared on Techlearning.com.

LibraryGames.com. A website to help librarians make library fun for kids who might otherwise not give it a chance.

Virtual Author Visits in Your Library or Classroom. A way for authors to visit the classroom using Skype!

Fun Typing App. An app to help kids with their typing skills.

SchoolWaxTv. Educator-approved videos, organized by audience and grade level.

Evernote Tips and Guides. Shared by Best Content in Education, Diigo.

Broadcastr Beta. AWESOME. You can record 3 minute audio stories and attach them to a map.

XTranormal. Text to movie animation. "If you can type, you can make movies..."

Kidspiration. and Inspiration. These programs have been available for 10+ years, and they continue to be both popular and useful. Explore these sites and the programs. You may download a 30 day trial of each. If when you have time, play with these tools. [I teach outlining using Inspiration; kids love their result.]

Noodle Tools. “NoodleTools, Inc., a California company incorporated in 2002, was co-founded in 1999 by mother and son team Debbie and Damon Abilock. NoodleTools' flagship product, NoodleBib, has emerged as the leading bibliography software on the Internet, transforming bibliographic instruction methodologies in thousands of subscribing schools and libraries.” This is true!

AALA's TOP

__AALA's Top Media Sharing Websites:__

1. Glogster Remember the old the poster board presentations? Well, they are now digital, motivating and very visually exciting. Use these digital posters to create a book review, an interactive front page for a wiki, an innovative topic exploration or any other demonstration of learning using video, graphics, text, etc.

2. Masher Are you a little hesitant to create videos? Masher makes it’s easy. You can "mix, mash, and share" video clips, audio files, and photos into polished movies. Students own content as well as media from the BBC Motion Gallery and Rip Curl free for the mashing, and can then be shared on social media sites or via email.

3. Prezi Getting tired of the old linear PowerPoint presentations? Then switch to Prezi and start to create fantastic, brain-friendly presentations. Use the "zebra wheel" to customize, non-linear creative presentations that can kept for online access or downloaded for personal or professional use. Include pictures, videos, and more. Free presentations for anyone and extended options for teachers and those in Education.

4. Professor Garfield Are you looking to engage kids in a safe online setting and provide 21st century learning opportunities? Professor Garfield provides an environment where children can safely create, interact, read, engage, and express themselves through a variety of innovative online tools including an e-book reader and comics lab.

5. SchoolTube This is the ideal place for teachers and students to share videos online. Create your own channel for your school or share videos with other students and educators. Instructions on how to load, create, and compress videos as well as how to create video contests and TV shows for your school. It's all here in SchoolTube.

6. Scratch Targeted to 8- to 16-year olds, Scratch allows students to create and share projects, presentations, stories and best of all – videos games! The emphasis is on multi-media and includes graphics, sound, music, and photos. Supported by National Science Foundation research, Scratch encourages creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration.

7. WatchKnow.org Don't let you students' videos languish on your computer's hard drive. WatchKnow is a free and easily accessible way to share educational videos with students and staff. Organized for easy searching, you can even search by age, and has the ability for you to download your own videos to share with others.

__AALA's Top Digital Storytelling Websites:__

1. International Children's Digital Library The largest digital collections of children’s book, ICDL contains over 4,400 books in 54 languages representing 64 countries with applications for the iPhone and the new larger screen, iPad.

2. Jing Do you need to quickly snap a picture of your screen or record a video of an onscreen action? Jing is the solution; it's free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. Include it in an email, Website, or IM.

3. Storybird Do your students like to tell stories? Storybird will help them to create short, visual stories. You can save them, share them and (soon) print them. Use Storybird's beautiful watercolor illustrations to tell your story.

__AALA's Top sites for Managing and Organizing:__

1. Evernote Tired of trying to keep track or find your various notes on taken throughout the day and want to be able to organize your thoughts from a variety of sources? Evernote will do this and you can access it from anywhere, even your iPhone.

2. jogtheweb Do you want an easy and innovative way to guide students through the Internet? jogtheweb is a web-based tool that allows anyone to create a synchronous guide to a series of Websites. Its step-by-step approach of taking viewers through Websites allowing the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page is unique. Give it a try and start creating your own jogs.

3. Live Binders This fun and easy-to-use site makes it easy to organize and share sources. Teachers can use it as a presentation tool, plan an interactive lesson, or engage with students on the research process.

4. MuseumBox This site allows students to place items into virtual boxes; these items can include images, video, text, and sound. MuseumBox can be used across the curriculum and can help students to describe a person, place, thing, event, idea, or issue. The site facilitates description, debate, investigation, and exploration and development of ideas and issues.

5. Pageflakes Create your own personalized homepage with Pageflakes. You can include all of your favorite internet sites and arrange them as you wish on your page. The "flakes" - small versions of the web pages you prefer - could include sites that focus on a specific hobby or interest, a particular subject area, a classroom study topic or current events.

6. Weblist Weblist is a great way to gather and organize content based on a theme with the added feature of one URL. Your weblist can then be shared through social media networks or posted on a blog or Website. No time to make your own list, then search their playlist for subjects from music to science and everything in between.

__AALA's best sites for social networking and communication:__

1. Creative Commons Teach students and colleagues to collaborate as integral partners in the digital evolution as they discover and share content to use, re-purpose and remix with Creative Commons. Here you will find all the resources needed to learn appropriate use of Creative Commons licensing for written, graphic and multimedia content.

2. Learn Central Connect with Steve Hargadon and an ever-growing number of educators on Learn Central, the social network for professional development that is ready when you are. Join free webinars and discussions in real time or participate with members asynchronously. Host a group of up to three participants for free. Develop networks with colleagues across town or around the world. Lifelong learning is just a few clicks away!

3. TED TED is a remarkable Website sharing ideas from the world's most innovative thinkers and experts related to technology, entertainment, design, business, science, and global issues. Watch, listen to, learn, discuss and spread TED.

__AALA's best sites for Content Collaboration:__

1. debategraph Seeking diverse perspectives, interpretations or new understandings of topicsand issues impacting our world? Join debategraph, a browser based, wiki-style site, where students can synthesize, evaluate, expand, collaborate, contribute and substantiate their own thoughts and ideas to both sides of the issues. Debategraph utilizes visual depiction to deepen and enrich student understanding for a continuous and robust debate.

__AALA's best sites for curriculum sharing:__

1. Exploratree Create "thinking guides" using Exploratree's endless options. You can fill in the guides online or print them out for student use--both options offer the option to save your work for future use. Thinking guides are divided into five broad categories for use by educators and students: map your ideas, solve problems, explore, analyse (they're British!), and different perspectives.

2. The Jason Project Are you looking for a way to connect your students with great explorers and great events in Science? You do not have to look any further than The Jason Project! Their free online curriculum is designed primarily for the middle grades but can be adapted to fit any grade level.

3. [[@http://nsdl.org/|National Science Digital Library  ]]The National Science Digital Library includes a variety of educational resources to further STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Browse the science literacy maps, short science refreshers, free multimedia downloads, or subject area collections to find just what you need to enhance student learning!

__AALA's best sites for Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More__

1. Edsitement Check out this site for great educational material -suggested Websites and lesson plans - in literature/language arts, art/culture, social studies/history and foreign language.

2. The National Archives' Digital Classroom The National Archives’ Digital Classroom offers a multitude of resources for the use of primary sources in the classroom. With access to copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teachers can develop their own activities and lesson plans that make historical periods come alive for their students or choose from dozens of resources that have already been developed and are featured here.