Although we don't return to school until after Labor Day, I understand that many of you have already begun the 2015-2016 school year. So......I've put together a megalist of resources which will assist you in becoming more organized.
Award and Certificate Templates
Back to School Templates
Best Education and Technology Podcasts
Books for Reluctant Readers: Grades K-12
Bulletin Board Ideas
Classroom Guides from Edutopia
Classroom Management Templates and Forms
Free eBooks Listing
FREE Stuff for Teachers
Getting Started with Icebreakers
Grants and Grant Writing Information
Great Blogs to Follow By Subject Area
Holidays from September-June
Resources for New Teachers
Technology eBooks from MakeUseOf
What a Listing! Holiday Resources From September to June- all the links you'll ever need
Our 21st Century libraries are the perfect place to explore, and what better way to practice digital citizenship than by connecting with others around the world!
Common Sense Media’s vast website is chock-full of resources related to kids, tweens, teens, parents, and media. Their Digital Literacy and Citizenship educational resources and curriculum are well written, aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and they are kid, tween, and teen friendly. Their Power of Words, Pause and Think Online are great videos to share with elementary school students, and Oversharing: Think Before You Post is perfect for tweens and teens. One way to incorporate the Digital Citizenship curriculum and to honor the Digital Citizenship pledge is to connect with other schools via Google Hangout or Skype, and practice what they have learned in a fun way. By celebrating various literature-inspired holidays with other schools within your district, the United States, or worldwide, elementary students can hone their 21st Century communication skills.
In September, we celebrate courage, creativity, and collaboration with International Dot Day, We read books about art and taking risks, and share dot-inspired art with other schools.In October, we celebrate Read for the Record and collaborate with other schools to share the book of the year. Also in October is Digital Citizenship Week - the perfect time to teach this topic, and practice new skills like communicating kindly with someone else online.
In March we celebrate World Read Aloud Day where my students connect with other classrooms around the United States to share information about each other’s state and read aloud to one another. Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie books are perfect books for Gerald, and the other, Piggie, Older students can the younger grades - one school can read the part of read two-part poems such as Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman or read a Readers’ Theater version of a book, such as Judy Schachner’s Skippyjon Jones- Lost in Spice, dividing the parts between the two schools. Another favorite holiday I celebrate with my students Poem in Your Pocket Day. This year, after reading a few examples of list poems, we collaboratively created list poems, using Google Hangout, and typing together on Google Drive as our students created and dictated the lines of the poems.
As students go farther and farther into their exploration of cyberspace, powerful digital citizenship lessons such as these will serve them well.
Melissa McDonald is the School Library Media Specialist at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is the author of the blog, The Creative Librarian - Adventures in School Librarianship.
My apologies for not posting in quite a while. I have had some health issues which ended with a hospital stay this past weekend. It's been a tough road back but I am glad to be feeling better!
NOTE: Some events could not be listed because the date to apply has already passed.
JUST FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIANS
ALA Las Vegas- American Association of School Librarians schedule HERE
*EasyBib Professional Development- on demand and free
English Language Learners and the School Library- July 20-22; Cambridge, MA
*Gale Geek Webinars- play or download
*Junior Library Guild On-Site or Online Training for Librarians
Picture Book Conference- at the Mazza Museum, University of Findlay, Ohio
*Professional Development/Webinars- currently about 28 on the list with updates all the time
*School Librarian Twitter Chats as Professional Development
*Summer Teen- School Library Journal's online event covering teen issues and their affect on your teen collection.
ALL EDUCATORS
Annenberg Learner- view videos in these subject areas: arts, foreign language, literature and language arts, math, science, social studies and history
Arkansas STEM Coalition- computer science professional development
ASCD Summer Professional Development Opportunities- all over the U.S.
Center for STEM Education for Girls- locations for professional development all over the U.S.
Coursera- verified certificates for certain courses ($); others are FREE
DIY Professional Development Resource Roundup- from Edutopia
*edCamp- list of all edCamp schedules (it's worldwide!)
EdTech Teacher Summer Workshops- Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago
*edWeb Webinars
*Free Professional Learning Through ASCD's Professional Development Tools- includes webinars, virtual learning, book study guides
The Art of Education Conference- for art teachers; national online conference
The Conference Calendar- lists conferences for all types of educators
Connecticut Council of Language Teachers- July 9-10
The Education Cooperative- long list of PD opportunities either online or Tec Learning Center in Massachusetts
Education Week Teacher PD Directory- extensive listing of professional development opportunities
Houghton Mifflin Professional Development- for math teachers
ISTE 2015 Philadelphia- June 28- July 1
*The Library of Congress- FREE PD for teachers
*Maker Educator Boot Camp- held in Pittsburgh, PA
Museum Institute for Teaching Science- summer professional development institutes; located in different parts of Massachusetts.
Music-Comp- professional development for music teachers; located in Burlington, VT; begins July13th and 20th.
*National Archives- PD Webinars for Educators
The New Victory Theater- (NYC, August 10-14) "Workshops designed to help classroom teachers and arts specialists (Pre-K to 12th grade) cultivate the skills to incorporate the performing arts into their lesson planning and teaching practice."
NEA Member Benefits: Professional Development
NJEA Professional Learning
NJEA Summer Learning Opportunities
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection- science educators
Professional Development Programs for Teachers- from The Newberry, Chicago's Independent Research Library
Professional Learning at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum- (NYC) August 3-8; some $$
Richard Byrne's Online PD Opportunities-learn from one of the best!
Smithsonian Educator Workshops- includes the Mobile Learning Institute; many wait list only
Solution Tree Institutes- many sold out, so hurry
Stanford Summer Teaching Institute- language arts, technology, science, math
*Summer Rejuvination Guide- from Edutopia
Summer Programs from LRC- for foreign language teachers
Teachers College, Columbia University- conferences on various topics; some are wait-list only
Teq Summer PD- NYC and Long Island
University of British Columbia Online Courses
University of North Dakota Professional Development- in person or online
University of Wisconsin Stout- 34 online professional development courses
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I can't believe it is that time of the year already! Some of you have already ended your school year and others are following a totally different schedule with year-round classes. In case you missed them, here are the top 12 posts from September 2014-June 2015. Have a wonderful summer, whatever you do!
23 Chrome Extensions You Must Have
31 Free iPad Apps for Science Teachers
43 Free iPad Apps for Geography, History, Civics & Social Studies Teachers
All About Google Classroom in 22 Clicks!
Amazing! 74 Infographics for Teacher-Librarians (L.A. Teachers Too!)
Cartoons Only a Teacher Would Love
Free Online PD Infographic - from Joyce Valenza
Google Apps Status Dashboard Lets You Know What's Up
Great Video to Show Your Students What a Terrific Resource You Are
Hats Off to Google's Dan Russell!
Kids Love Scavenger Hunts! Here are 57 Sites to Get You Started!
PowerPoint Presentations Need a Boost? Here's Some Great Advice
This is my dream summer vacation!
With summer right around the corner, it's time for me to once again offer all educators the opportunity to do a guest blog post right here on A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet. No matter what your discipline is, you are welcome to fill out the form below. If you are chosen, I will email you with all the info needed to share your post. We begin on July 1, 2015!
I'm not a fan of being the bad guy, but one has to be in order to teach our students about being responsible. I haven't been as successful as I would like, but I have always managed to clear my list by the end of the school year. (Personally, I would LOVE not to have to charge fines, but with budget issues as they are, our library needs the money.)
Here's the catch about teaching responsibility: If a student loses a book, their parent pays for it. If a student has a late fee, their parent pays for it. It's been suggested that a proper payback would be for the student to work off their debt. I don't agree. There are many ways to solve this dilemma. (Of course there are very special situations, like if there are serious problems occurring in the student's family i.e. illness, divorce. Use your discretion. )
Here are some tips on how to collect fines and overdue books:
1. Maintain a sense of humor. Losing your grip will only stress you out. It is not worth it. What's the name of the book series? Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Perhaps your signs could take on a message which is delivered using humor? Here are two I created; one uses humor and the other one is very basic and to the point:
Here is a sign which is too plain and will not get your students' attention:
2. Be tenacious. I follow students to their classrooms and I keep showing up day after day until they either return a book or settle their fine. When they see you are not going away, they remember. It has worked for me just about every time.
3. Offer an incentive.
Here's a cute take on the Monopoly card from the Hastings-on-Hudson Public Library:
You could also try Food for Fines, where instead of cash, the student brings in cans of non-perishable food which can be donated to a local food bank.
Amnesty Coupons are also a good way to get students to settle their debt. Choose one day and see what happens.
Remember the show Deal or No Deal? (Repeats of the show are currently on GSN) I found this idea in the Google book Tips and Other Bright Ideas for Secondary School Libraries, Volume 4 by Kate Vande Brake :
4. Use operant conditioning.
Students need to understand that their behavior has a consequence. I have used class trips and the prom as an incentive for the collection of books. (See my poster Do You Owe Us a Book or Fine?above which explains.)
5. When all else fails, call the parent. Sometimes it is difficult to get in touch, but be persistent. The chance is pretty good that the parent did not know that their child had an overdue book or fine.
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL THING YOU DO TO GET BOOKS & FINES FROM STUDENTS?
Please comment at the bottom of the post.
Now to de-stress. Here are some really funny cartoons about overdue books:
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This is an updated list (12 more added from last year) of jobs for kids between the ages of 12-17. With a little creativity (and a bit of that entrepreneurial spirit) there are many things your students can do to earn extra money.
1. Advertise on Fiverr (http://www.fiverr.com/ ) where someone could pay $5.00 and up for a service of yours
2. Assist a senior citizen with their chores at home or away from home
3. Babysit
4. Be a clown, magician or other entertainment at a kid’s birthday party
5. Bicycle repair
6. Camp counselor or counselor in training at a day camp or sleep away camp
7. Collect aluminum cans for $$
8. Create anime or cartoon books to sell
9. Distribute advertising flyers on car windshields
10. Dog walker
11. Dog washer
12. Fix computer problems
13. Golf Caddy
14. Have a bake sale
15. House cleaning
16. Iced tea stand
16. Lifeguard
17. Lemonade stand
18. Messenger service
19. Modeling
20. Mow lawns/raking leaves
21. Music teacher
22. Newspaper delivery
23. Office help: filing, sorting, organizing
24. Paint faces at a craft market street fair
25. Pet sitting
26. Photograph a kid’s birthday party
27. Plant flowers
28. Plant sit
28. Plant sit
29. Put flyers on cars
30. Restore old photos
31. Run errands for people
32. Shovel snow (this is not just a summer list)
33. Sell bottles water at a Little League game, race or marathon
36. Smartphone/Tablet Tutor
37. Start an online business: Bizinate (bizinate.com/kids)
38. Stuff envelopes for a company or person
38. Stuff envelopes for a company or person
39. Take an online survey and getting paid cash (http://www.cashcrate.com/ )
40. Translate documents etc. (You must be fluent in that language)
41. Tutor young kids
42. TV Remote Control Programmer (for people who need a tech savvy person)
43. Videographer: example: record people practicing golf swings
44. Volunteer at the public library
45. Volunteer for charity work (animal shelter etc.)
46. Wash cars
43. Videographer: example: record people practicing golf swings
44. Volunteer at the public library
45. Volunteer for charity work (animal shelter etc.)
46. Wash cars
47. Wash windows
48. Work as an usher at a movie theater
48. Work as an usher at a movie theater
49. Work for a church or other group as a pianist
50. Write an article for Ezine (http://ezinearticles.com/ )
Google needs to remember that the average joes in the world are not as tech savvy as the geeks out there. I hope that they would rethink putting back the "reading level" filter under Google search tools. Please?
Just in case you are not aware....it is National Library Week. I came across these two awesome videos which are parodies Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk (Unread Book) and Taylor Swift's Shake it Up.(CheckItOut) Feel free to share and of course to dance!!
It's that time of year when students are graduating college and school districts are eliminating positions for next year. I am once again posting my comprehensive list of resources for teachers looking for a job. ( I work in N.J. so there are many links specific to our state) Good luck!
Job Interview Questions- covers interview questions, interview guide, after the interview, salary negotiation, second interview
Job Interview Tips- taken from the Occupational Handbook 2010-2011 edition
Virtual Job Interview
What to Wear and What Not to Wear to an Interview- infographic
Virtual Job Interview
What to Wear and What Not to Wear to an Interview- infographic
JOB SEARCH
10 Things Job Applicants Should Know- from the NY Times
Indeed- one search, all jobs
10 Things Job Applicants Should Know- from the NY Times
Career Builder- search for all types of jobs on this site
Indeed- one search, all jobs
K12 Jobspot- search by job title and state; when you pick a city it shows you how many positions from the drop-down menu; also shows the location on a map.
NJ School Directory- all school web sites are listed by county; check employment opportunities on each site.
Teachers-Teachers.com- site says it lists jobs for 1775 districts and they are in partnership with the NEA.
RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS
The 25 Most Creative Designer Resumes You'll See This Year
38 More Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work- from JobMob
Cover Letters- from Career Lab
Create a Free Teacher Portfolio
Got Resume Builder- build your resume online; download as a pdf, Word doc or text file
The 25 Most Creative Designer Resumes You'll See This Year
38 More Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work- from JobMob
Cover Letters- from Career Lab
Create a Free Teacher Portfolio
Got Resume Builder- build your resume online; download as a pdf, Word doc or text file
Yesterday I received an email from a publicist for School Library Journal, announcing that nominations were open for their 2nd School Librarian of the Year Award. The award is being presented by Scholastic Publishing. Nominations are open until Friday, May 22, 2015, with judging taking place in June, the winner announced in July, and the winner published in the September issue of School Library Journal. Here are the key points about the award from the publicist:
"This year, one winning school librarian will receive the following:
- $2,500 cash award
- $2,500 worth of print and digital materials from Scholastic Library Publishing
- Feature article in the September 2015 issue of School Library Journal
- An invitation to the SLJ Leadership Summit in Seattle, September 26-27, 2015
Two finalists will each receive $500 in materials of their choice from Scholastic Library Publishing and be featured with the winner in online multimedia articles for SLJ.com. All nominations are judged by an esteemed panel comprised of school administrators, SLJ editors, industry professionals from Scholastic and 2014 School Librarian of the Year Michelle Colte, based on criteria including exemplary use of technology tools, creativity in programming and use of content and more. You can learn more about the 2014 winner here.
Instructions for applying and nominating individuals for the School Librarian of the Year Award can be found here: slj.com/schoollibrarian "
I was watching a Google Slides presentation today in our computer lab and it made me realize that many students are still not aware of how to resize an image in their report or presentation. Both Microsoft Word and Google Docs allow you to produce a great enlargement, (or make an image smaller) if you'd like) simply by following the directions below.
H/T Richard Byrne for posting this and remembering the importance of our librarians!