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Bitmoji Virtual Library
If you know me at all you know I love Bitmojis. They are such a fun online sticker for education. During this trying time adding a bitmoji or two to a students assignment or adding them to my own assignments just gives my assignments a bit of flair. So much so that I created a virtual library a couple of weeks ago.
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Zoom vs. Meet
Which is better for students? Zoom or Google Meet...you be the judge. I give you my experience with both products using both with students in a rural community with varying levels of internet connectivity.
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Student Engagement with FlipGrid
FlipGrid is a tool that many staff are using to connect with students. Flipgrid is a free, simple way to foster short video-based discussions on classroom topics.
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Digital Escape Rooms
Digital escape rooms bring the excitement of hunting for clues and the joy of solving puzzles right to your student’s devices.
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Upgrading the Booktalk
Booktalking is a standard librarian activity and there are so many different ways to do it and I have done quite a few of them. At the Middle School/High School Level this is one of the ways we can continue to inspire students to read for enjoyment. I have tried the book cafe, musical books, book-tastings, book dating, lecture style book talk, book trailer stations, #booksnaps, and Peardeck Booktalks. I will talk about all of them and the benefits and drawbacks for each one. I love books and sharing them with students is the best but even better is when they share with me 🙂 Book Tastings/Dating Let’s start with…
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Gamification in the Library
There are so many ways to gamifiy your library and some of my favorite ways to do this include several relatively new tools. I like to use scavenger hunts, QR codes, augmented reality, and classroom management tools to engage my students. “The gamification of learning is an educational approach to motivate students to learn by using video game design and game elements in learning environments. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. Gamification, broadly defined, is the process of defining the elements which comprise games that make those games fun and motivate players to continue playing, and…
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The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo I received this title via @kidlitexchange for an honest review. So what exactly do you get in The Language of Thorns? Leigh says in her interview with GdM: “These are the stories my characters would have heard growing up. Some of them deliberately evoke popular fairytales, others diverge more radically from the familiar. They come from different countries around the Grishaverse, so you’ll get slightly varying views on magic, heroism, and even beauty depending on whether the story is from Kerch, Ravka, Fjerda, or Novyi Zem. There are a few easter eggs for readers of the Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone…
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Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo I received this book via @kitlit exchange a fantastic group I found on instagram. When I first picked up this book I thought it would be a movie tie-in for the summer blockbuster. Boy was I wrong. It is a standalone book that is fantastic. It is part of a series of books that are reimagining superheroes for a new generation. I am extremely excited about Catwoman coming out very soon. I really enjoyed the differences in mythology that Bardugo chose. Although it had the heart of the film it really was very different in its mythology. I also enjoyed that the main character…
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Innovation of Making
Presenting at YSS tomorrow on the innovation of Making. I have been inspired by the likes of Diana Rendina and Laura Flemming who have given the library world fantastic resources on how to start a makerspace. My main challenge with makerspaces is that I see them becoming a glorified arts and crafts experience. There is nothing wrong with this but in the age of intense accountability it is imperative that we create experiences that engage deeper thinking. Creation and innovation along with creativity and authentic experiences are paramount if we are going to gain a foothold in the educational realm. Librarians are at a crossroads as to what they need…
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Many Faces of Google Searching
If you are like me you are constantly using the search function in Google Drive. You are also a person that uses Google Chrome’s omnibar for everything. Did you know you can type in youtube.com and press tab and it creates a search of youtube for you? Type away your search. Now there are a lot of search engines listed in Chrome but you can create your own! Thank you so much ShakeUpLearning for cluing me in. How to Edit Your Chrome Search Engines: Right-click on the Omnibox, and select, “Edit Search Engines.” This will open your search engine settings in Google Chrome. From here, scroll down to the very…