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Friday, October 13, 2017

Back to Business!

I've had a little hiatus from my blogging, but have decided to get back to it.  I will be introducing new Marshall Public School media center events, materials, and reading/writing related resources on this page.  Check back weekly for updates.

This week's focus is on some of the technology equipment/materials available for checkout.

First on the table is the collaboration table that was introduced this past spring at the high school.  Over the summer I purchased a stand with table for the television monitor so that it can easily be moved to a classroom. See the media center staff at the circulation counter for checkout to your classroom, or for use in the media center.  





Are your students producing video or audio projects?  Several types of headsets and microphones are available.   See your options below:

A classroom set of 25 headsets (headphone and mic).  These may be checked out individually, in small sets, or the entire collection.



Also available is a classroom set of Eberry microphones for student recording.  These, too, may be checked out individually or as a class set.



Finally, there are two cordless mic options for student devices and/or teacher laptops:  a handheld style or lapel style.  Two of each are available for checkout at each of the high school and middle school media centers.  I am working on an additional cordless mic option that is compatible with Ipads.



A green screen is located at each building for classroom use, or for use in the media center for student/staff video production.  Two Ipads with the DoInk green screen app can be checked out at each building.  Students may also use VideoPad which is a similar application to DoInk, but compatible and free to download for the student Windows 10 devices.




Karen, the media center staff, and I are available to help with the operation of this equipment


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Summer Reading Lists, Resources for Next Year, and the Copyright Morsel

As summer approaches, it's important that students continue to read so as not to lose all of the gains that they made during the school year.  The following resources identify some of the newest and best summer reads for kids.

The Association for Library Service to Children puts out a summer reading list for 3 different elementary and intermediate grade level categories.  All Marshall Public School students will receive a copy of their age appropriate list from their classroom and/or language arts teacher.

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) posted the 2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults list (printable version) for those students in the later middle level grades, and high school.  Share this link or make a copy for your child.

Looking for non-fiction read alouds for your students?  I came across this National Geographic Kids Symbaloo that links to several free, high interest, non-fiction read alouds that you can display on your Smart board or have students view/read/listen to these titles on their mobile devices.

Linked off of the site above is the actual website for National Geographic Young Explorer and National Geographic Explorer.  Check out all of the activities available at this site that can help enhance your life science curriculum, and for the young scientists and readers who love non-fiction animal books.

Have a great summer, and I look forward to sharing with you again in the upcoming school year.  For those interested, I will continue to blog throughout the summer months!


Copyright Morsel by Diane Konjura


I love Crash Course videos!  Here is the Crash Course Introduction to share more about what Crash Course is and how you can use these videos with your curriculum.  Today, as my last Copyright Morsel post, I am sharing three excellent videos to help you and your students gain a better understanding of copyright.  Copyright, Exceptions, and Fair Use: Crash Course Intellectual Property #3 discusses exceptions and fair use and how copyright works with the digital age we are living.  This video continues the discussion presently occurring where many are questioning copyright and creative expression in our digital world. Introduction to Intellectual Property: Crash Course Intellectual Property 1 and Copyright Basics: Crash Course Intellectual Property 2 are great introductions to understanding copyright.



Monday, May 4, 2015

Minnesota Book Awards

The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award and the Star of the North Book Award were recently announced.   These Minnesota unique book awards are voted on by students.

The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award is a children's choice book award, and recognizes award winning books in two different grade level divisions. The purpose of the award is to promote recreational reading by children. Students in grades 3 through 5 are able to vote on the Division I winners, and 6th through 8th grade students vote for winners within the Division II nominees.

The Division I winners are:


1st Place                          2nd Place                           3rd Place
Belly Up                           Ghost Dog Secrets             Guinea Dog
by Stuart Gibbs                by Peg Kehret                    by Patrick Jennings
Picture
Picture        Picture


The Division II winners are:

1st Place                         2nd Place                        3rd Place
Breathing Room              Cinder                             The False Prince
by Marsha Hayles           by Marissa Meyer            by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Picture           Picture           Picture


The Star of the North Award is also a children's choice award, but recognizes the best picture book voted on by children in grades Kindergarten through 2nd.  

This year's winners are:

1st Place                                       2nd Place                             3rd Place
Moo                                               Jangles                                 I'm Bored
by David LaRochelle                     written and illustrated by       by Michael Black
illustrated by Mike Wahnoutka      David Shannon                     illustrated by Debbie
                                                                                                    Ridpath Ohi

Picture                Picture             Picture

Put all of these award winning books on your and your children's  reading list for the summer


Copyright Morsel by Diane Konjura

As the last few weeks wind down in the school year this video, Copyright Basics Video, is a great overall review of copyright for teachers and high school students.  This video covers copyright, fair use, public domain and other copyright related topics. 

Monday, April 13, 2015

Your School Library Where Learning Never Ends - Celebrate School Library Month

April is School Library Month.  Libraries are central to strong schools, and learning. Remember to encourage students to check out what each building library offers at Marshall Public Schools.  Beyond the stacks of books are caring media specialists and media assistants who develop and encourage a love for reading, and are able to lead students to the "just right" book for them.  Students are also creating, tinkering, and exploring in the maker space areas of some of our libraries.  Visit your school library today!





Read here to find out what several great authors have to say about the importance of school libraries.

During this time of high stakes testing remember that "more than 60 studies have shown that strong school library programs led by certified school librarians are linked with higher student achievement levels", read about this and more in the article, Building Advocacy before a Crisis by Nancy Everhart and Marcia A. Mardis.


Copyright Morsel by Diane Konjura

April 20-24, 2015 is Turnitin-Plagiarism Education Week.  Turnitin offers several 45-minutes live webcasts available for free registration.  I plan to participate in the webcast titled: Decisions on a Deadline: A 21st Century Gaming Approach to Teach Plagiarism and Ethics.  In addition, access is available to view webcasts from 2014 and 2013.   Another I find of interest is found in 2014 Webcasts On-Demand titled: Understanding Plagiarism With Help From Dr. Seuss.  This site also has excellent lesson plans and whitepapers regarding plagiarism and ethics.  



Sunday, April 5, 2015

Free Reads Online, and the Copyright Morsel

I was browsing Pinterest and came across a fantastic, free website for educators that has many fiction and non-fiction e-books.  Check out Epic!  The website displays books in a reader-friendly format so that they can easily be displayed on your Smartboard for classroom use, or students can read books on a tablet.  Create your free educator account, and start reading now!

Another great site for free and/or reduced price books is Bookbub.  Set up your account and preferences to access books on your favorite e-reader.  You can also subscribe to Smashwords to read e-books online without a reader, and even publish your own books at this website.


Copyright Morsel by Diane Konjura


This link from Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries - Copyright & Multimedia Resources provides an excellent list of resources for royalty free sounds and images.  This link also addresses Confu Guidelines pertaining to digital copyright and fair use to help educators and student understand suggested limits without needing copyright permission.  Consider these resources with any education projects. 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

March Madness in the book world, too!


March welcomes a plethora of the best reads (reading lists) for all ages and interests. Young adult readers will surely find a good read in Booklist Online's Best Fiction for Young Adults 2015 list.  Notable Children's Books 2015 offers something for younger readers, also published by Booklist Online.  Check out your Marshall Public School library catalogs to find these honorable books, and more award winning books for 2015.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend written and illustrated by Dan Santat is winner of the 2015 Caldecott Medal for best American picture book.   Find this book at Park Side, West Side, and the Marshall Middle School library



The Printz Award is given to the most notable young adult book, and this year's winner is I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson



Copyright Morsel


Hopefully with some of the information I’ve posted this year, some of the “muddiness” of copyright is becoming clearer.  The article for this week, Copyright Infringement: 5 Myths vs Facts, focuses on 5 myths and the facts behind them.  This information is shared in an infographic with more explanation in a video and text information.  I like how this article discusses internet copyright infringement.  Many aspects that we certainly need to be aware of today in a digital society. 

Sunday, March 8, 2015

YouTube: Everything you need to know and more...and the weekly Copyright Morsel.

YouTube...it's a love hate relationship.  It has both pros and cons alike.  YouTube can encourage creativity, it's free, the music, it can teach you "how to...just about anything", and there is a lot of educational content available.  But the same qualities that make it fun, educational, and interesting, can also bring up a host of problems such as spam, inappropriate material and/or images, bad language, privacy concerns, advertising, etc.

Common Sense Media provides several quick and easy suggestions for making YouTube a family friendly site in the article, A Parent's Ultimate Guide to YouTube.  Using the safety settings, parental guidance, and channel subscriptions are but a few of the recommendations suggested.

Looking for YouTube content for your classroom or family to subscribe to?  Consider the following 7 of the Best YouTube Channels for Kids.  National Geographic Kids and Sesame Street are two listed at the site.  You can also find links to two other published lists of recommended YouTube channels at the bottom of the page.

The Good, the Bad, and the Viral: YouTube Pros and Cons also discusses both sides of the YouTube issue as it relates to kids and the Internet.

Thinking of using YouTube videos in your classroom, and you want to eliminate the unexpected, and often distasteful advertising and pop-ups?  Copy the URL address into the SafeShare.TV site, and you will be redirected to a link free of everything, but the YouTube video itself.  Copy and paste the new URL address into your presentations to make them easy to find for the next time.

Maybe you only want to include a short piece of a YouTube video, try TubeChop.  Copy and paste the YouTube URL address, and then use the tools available to isolate the section of the video you want to use.  The tool creates a new link of the shortened video selection that can be copied and pasted into your presentation, also free of advertising and pop-ups.



Copyright Morsel by Diane Konjura


This week I found an article from The Edublogger that was published in 2012, but is an excellent article about copyright, fair use, and creative commons for educators.  It not only explains copyright, fair use and creative commons, but also provides resources to help when needing images, videos, and curriculum.  An important message in this article points out how more and more law firms and organizations are seeking out copyrighted material that is posted publicly and is in violation of copyright.  I encourage teachers to check out this article: The Edublogger: The Educator's Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons