Smore

I created a Smore newsletter at the end of the year to communicate with students and parents about summer reading. It was so simple to use and I was able to put it on Facebook, Twitter, and the school website (both the Silver Lake life page and the Library page). I posted it the first week in June. Since it was posted, it has 652 views! Wow. And what is cool is people are still viewing it. I had 120 just this week and 25 views just today! I love that I can get analytics that help me to see that it was worthwhile. I think one of the reasons is that I don't do weekly or monthly newsletters, so parents aren't tired of looking at it. It is a novelty. It also fills a need - parents are bored and looking for a way to entertain their kids and so they find the newsletter, read it, and hopefully find the information helpful. Of all the views, 114 spent more than 2 minutes on the newsletter, which makes me think they are actually reading it! The most popular way to access the Smore was through the district website, then by email, Facebook, and finally Twitter. That doesn't surprise me because parents don't really use Twitter that much. I am glad I created it and parents are using it. I hope they find it useful! I have had views in the Phillipines, Mexico, Russia, and Germany. (I think Russia is the former Dove Librarian Michelle Henry, and Germany is the former SL teacher Amanda Baublet, but it is still cool!)

Check it out if you haven't seen one before:

Common Sense Media

Have you used Common Sense Media before? As a parent I am in love with it! Every time I consider letting my kids see a movie, I check CSM. Gone are the days when my mom would call the movie theater to ask why a movie was rated R, "Is it for language and violence (okay by her) or nudity?". Now you can read the specific words, scenes, and events that make games, movies, television shows, etc. rated a certain way.

It also contains media that you can use to teach topics like digital footprint, cyber bullying, and Internet safety.

Http://www.commonsensemedia.org. Check it out! Love it!

Blendspace

So I attempted to create a Blendspace to share information with second grade teachers. They are comparing texts and other forms of literature and wanted some related texts, movies, songs, etc. I was able to find sing alongs, ebooks, videos on Safari Montage, and some other things. I didn't do the best job (in my opinion) of putting the information into a Blendspace. It just didn't look very pretty. I did like how I could add text to explain what it is.

I found it similar to a Symbaloo (which I LOVE). I don't know that I will use Blendspace again. I prefer Symbaloo. : )

Google Drive Collaboration

I recently used Google Drive to collaborate with the fabulous Amy Keller and amazing Jaime Parker. They are two awesome librarians that I was grouped with by the super Suzanne Newell! We planned our 5 minute presentation for principals last week. It was so helpful to see each others' ideas, links, etc. pop up each time I visited. : ) Love collaborating!

I have worked with students using Drive, too. I share documents with them instead of having to make copies. Love it!

Google Forms

I love to use Google Forms! I have used them for so many things. I used it in the library to have students vote for books during our Tournament of Kids' Books during March Madness.
https://twitter.com/SilverLakeLib/status/446720416132788224

I also used it to make gifts for all of the teachers. I sent out a Google form to the staff. It had a list of everyone on the staff and a box where they could write one descriptive word. After I gathered all the names, I made a Tagxedo in the shape of a heart for each staff member. I hung them outside their doors as a Thanksgiving gift. It was so easy, efficient, and fun!


I have made student surveys this way as well. They help me gather information about book suggestions, experiences, genres, etc.

They are great!

Google Classroom Rocks!

I am using Google Classroom with my third grade PLT group. We hit some bumps the first time we used it - the app would somehow delete students' posts in progress when a friend would publish his post! We switched to the web version and those trials disappeared. I love sharing documents through Google Classroom - no copies necessary and they can't lose the paper! Plus I don't have to store them during the week when I don't meet with them. I like the flexibility of Assignments vs Announcements. I also recently learned about Flubaroo and that is so cool. I don't usually give grades - I usually just give them a rubric, but if I did use grades I would use Flubaroo!

Ted Talk

I love this Mac Barnett Ted Talk! I am so excited he is coming to Silver Lake next year! You can tell he loves children, writing, and has a wonderful sense of humor. Check it out! : )


https://www.ted.com/talks/mac_barnett_why_a_good_book_is_a_secret_door?language=en