Archive | March, 2012

AP English Pecha Kucha Presentations

27 Mar
Today began our first attempt at using Pecha Kucha in the classrooms. For those not familiar with Pecha Kucha, it is a presentation format using 20 slides for 20 seconds. That’s the basic foundation of it, but it’s so much more. The images must be strong, the presentation thought out, and the speaker ready. For anyone who has ever sat through 40 biome presentations in one day-this style is for you!
Background

Students are studying the Grapes of Wrath in an AP English class. The teacher was looking for a new, fresh way for students to present a project on a “present day turtle”. After presenting the Pecha Kucha model to him, he was sold.

The Intro

Students came in and we showed a short video introducing the background and format of Pecha Kucha. We made a list about things we hate about Powerpoint presentations that “suck”. Too much text, predictable formats, reading from the slides, incessant blah blah blahing.

After reviewing the format and assignment, we watched a real Pecha Kucha about tacos in KC to loosen them up a bit. We talked about tone, image choice, and analyzed the presentation. View the Kansas City Taco presentation here!

Pecha Kucha Karaoke

Now we come to the really fun part. I borrowed 5 Powerpoint presentations from Slideshare and cropped them down to five slides. We assigned students a Powerpoint and group to speak on for 20 seconds per slide. The goal of this was for students to loosen up and feel what 20 seconds feels like. Students were given about 10 minutes to prepare and then they had to present in from of the class. I “set up” a couple of presentations with things I knew might affect the effectiveness of their presentation. For example, one of the presentations had sentences on it and undoubtedly every group read straight from the slide. Another example had an unclear picture which nobody knew what it was. All the presentations required different tones for the presenter and we spoke about that.

Image Searching and Copyrights

Over the next couple days students will be digging for the ultimate 20 slides for their presentation. We will work on citing sources for photos and finding images licensed for their use.

Next Steps

After all the prep work, students will create their presentation, practice, and officially present in the Fixed Forum (kind of like a small auditorium). There will be guests from the community as well as their classmates there to watch.

View our LibGuide with copyright information, sample presentations, and assignment guidelines too!

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iPads in the Library: Week Two and Three

19 Mar

Highlights of the Past Couple Weeks with our iPads.

1. Discovery of G-Whizz

I must preface this with my love of Google Docs. I’ve used them for everything over the past eight years. I use them for notes during phone conversations. I use them to create templates. I use them to record meeting agendas. Do you believe me yet? Everything! So, the discovery of a program that combines Gmail, Google Docs, and Reader was a dream come true. On top of this, it also includes quick links to all your social networking sites. It’s like a little browser that keeps all my favorite things right there. We have bluetooth keyboards, so at meetings last week I was able to bring them in place of a computer. This is nice…

2. Gale Database Apps

My other favorite thing is databases. I don’t know why, I just love how they work and the access I get to specific information. Gale has an app that gives users of your databases access to this beautiful app. It’s arranged just like an app and I think (hopefully I’ll get to test this soon) it will be easier to use for students than the website itself. You go Gale! Bad news is that it has crashed on me after the first week of pure database awesomeness. Updates to follow…

3. LanSchool for Teachers

This does not work. LanSchool is a program used for monitoring student work and administering group quizzes. Due to subnet arrangement and security protocols in the school, this program is a bust for us. I’d be interested to hear if anyone else has had luck with it at their school.

4. Instapaper and Read Later

I’m fortunate to spend most of my time with wireless surrounding me, so I had used Instapaper and the Read Later feature of Safari to bookmark. However, over our break I spent some time in non-wireless areas and figured out the pure beauty of this. Everything I had saved here I could view. That’s it-pretty simple. Combine these with Evernote and I can get access to everything, everywhere. Yes!
photo credit: mjdave via photopin cc

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Google Play-You’re blowing my mind

7 Mar

First of all…is it for real?

This Google Play thing is seriously amazing. I’ve dreamed about it, plotted about it, and now it’s true?

So, what’s the big deal? Here’s the video from Google floating around the net:

It’s basically cloud computing at it’s finest. Sync your music, movies, files, and more. I can’t wait to get rid of my huge, noisy, fragile hard drives… Yes! From what I can see so far you can upload files you already own (for how much, I don’t know). Other things will be available for fees, such as videos, music, books, and albums. I’m sure there’s more details to come!

So, how will this affect the libraries?

After reading LibraryThing’s blog post Ebook economy: Are libraries screwed?  I’ve really changed my view on how these movements are affecting libraries. What more can we offer? Google is often our most loved and hated counterpart. It’s so engrained in our patrons brains and they offer so much information for free. How can we compete? I think we’ve got to fight back by showing patrons the difference in material. Do you want information that’s close or right on? It depends on your research. Moving our libraries into the learning hub model we will support these patrons by helping them make educated decisions on information seeking strategies. We can provide scaffolding for help patrons understand transliteracy and cloud computing. How are you planning on helping patrons transition to “the cloud”?

 

photo credit: Espen Faugstad via photopin cc

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iPads in the Library: Week One

6 Mar

So, back in October we received a grant for our Roving Reference Librarian project. Our idea was that since so many students are using our databases and online tools that we could use the iPad “rove” around the library and help them without taking over their computers. We know as well as you do that truly no one likes someone leaning over their shoulder. We also are planning on using them to display our Gale eBook collections when they’re relevant to their research. Over the next year we’ll be implementing a unit to teach seniors on using online note-taking tools and organizational methods too. Students are struggling with the concept of Cloud storage and I think anything we can do help them out, the better!

Okay, that’s all big picture stuff. This week we’ve really just set them up and experimented with different apps to see what will be good for the students. They were set up by our tech department and work a little differently than a personal iPad. For example, we cannot connect them to our computers. All iPads are synced with one central computer in the IT department. The IT department also has developed a Self Service sort of “app portal” if you will. Apps purchased for the district can be accessed here. We use our personal Apple accounts. We purchased iTunes cards to use with apps we want to purchase for the library, but haven’t figured out how to use those later. Anyways, there’s a few of the logistics for districts brainstorming how to wrap their mind around apps, iPads, and personal Apple IDs.

So, here’s a shortlist of library apps I think are helpful! (in no particular order)

Notetaking Apps

* Penultimate: Records writing, has multiple pages, easy to index.

* Sundry Notes: Another good tool for recording notes. Not quite as versatile as Penultimate.

* Evernote: Of course, a must have. Not only does it sync with everything else, it works with PDFs, allows collaborative notebooks and more! I’m a little bugged by the fact that you cannot annotate PDFs, but eh. You can’t have it all!

* Skitch: I’ve reviewed this before on my blog. This is a great app for annotating pictures or diagrams! For science or math I see this as a must have for students.

* Dragon: Use this to record lectures or conversations and have it immediately converted to text. Works much better than SIRI at translating the speaker.

For Learning

* iTunes U: Tons of lectures and courses from high quality sources.

* Wikihood: This is the coolest. It finds where you are and shows Wikipedia articles that are sourced to nearby spots.

* Wolfram Alpha: The best math based search engine. I’m looking to develop a unit on this for our junior/senior level math students when they come in. So many uses…

* Gale Database App: This app far exceeds Gale’s segmented website. It’s so easy to navigate and find information. I can’t wait to start using this with classes! As long as your library/district/state subscribed to Gale, you should have access.

* Smithsonian: This app tricked me. It’s to watch their programs, but you have to be on at the time of the current program. In other words, it’s not On Demand.

Collaboration Tools

* Wunderlist: Collaborative list making app. Great for organizing projects.

* Idea Sketch: I love the functionality of this app! It’s a brainstorming/mapping tool. Unlike most of these tools, you can export the map as a beautiful JPEG. Love it!

* Skype: I’m sure you’re familiar with it :)

Fellow librarians: What have you used to connect with your students? How are you using iPads in the library?

photo credit: Ownipics via photopin cc

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The Future of Classroom Displays?

6 Mar

Alrighty, as I mentioned in a post before we are a pilot program for replacing the projector/SMART board combo with an interactive TV. In the long run, it’s cheaper and we’re seeing if it’s worth it.

Our response is… YES!!!

Do you ever use a piece of technology that fits so well into what you’re already doing you can’t believe you lived without it before? That’s how I feel about this TV. How have I ever presented to a class with my back to them? Since the world of educational bloggers seem to love top (insert number), I present to you my top four reasons you should replace your projector/SMART board with an interactive TV.

Reason One.

MONEY! Projectors are expensive to keep up. They cost about $500 dollars a year (at least) to maintain. Between cleaning them and buying bulbs, you’re losing quite a bit of money yearly. This was news to me. Upfront the TV costs about $1000 more than a projector/SMART board combo, but will more than make up for the difference in cost over the next couple years.

Reason Two.

DISPLAY! Ever been sitting in a lecture and the lecturer blabbers away about a picture you can’t see? The projector screen works by reflecting light. Depending on the light in the room, that may be just the projector’s output or also the light from outside. Most classrooms have windows. Windows =sun=faint pictures.

Reason Three.

COMPATIBILITY! TVs have been around the block a few times. They have been modified for maximum connections, visibility, and compatibility. Connect an iPad? No problem. Connect a computer? Sure! Watch cable? Even better. We have a USB cord and fire wire. Unfortunately, as of now, the PC is more compatible with the TV. We’ve got sound, video, and interactivity all in one little box!

Ahh…finally. Reason Four.

It’s cool. Seriously, a huge interactive display is just cool. Students have already been talking about the TV and incorporating it into their projects. In one week, it’s been the display for 2 Skype readalouds, the background for many Spanish newscasts, and an arena for a HUGE game of Angry Birds with the counselors. We’ve had more visitors in the library just to see it than anything else we have. If you have a SMART board, you know how it’s sometimes not so smart? We have not had any of the typical problems using the SMART software on our TVs which is a huge relief :)

In conclusion.

Before I end this post, I feel like I should include this disclaimer. We’re lucky to be in a school that can test out new ideas like this. However, I know not all schools have this luxury. In the past at this time of year I know I was struggling to get paper to make copies for student worksheets and scrounging around for paperclips. I hope that by publishing these posts I can help provide some schools with new ideas after we’ve tested them out so they can make informed decisions.
photo credit: x-ray delta one via photopin cc

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