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Terrific promotional ads for libraries- school and public!

We take a look at the new Google Research Tool, which has been added as a sidebar in Google Docs. WOW, creates footnotes drag/drop feature, powerful.

APPitic is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to help you transform teaching and learning. These apps have been tested in a variety of different grade levels, instructional strategies and classroom settings.

Let me tell you about our Floor-etry. First, floor-etry is a poem on the floor. That's it. It's simple and vastly influential in the process of creating an early literacy environment.  We here at the Allen County Public Library  got the idea from Saroj Ghoting's website for early literacy. In a presentation put together by Dana Bjerke, Joanna Redman and  Kelly Wussow from the Hennepin County Library, you can flip through different slides and see inspiring ideas that make words accessible to even the littlest of patrons. We thought, "We can do that!"

And we did! We wrote a poem that is actually just a string of similes so the reader can start anywhere in the circle and the poem makes sense. We typed it up in HUGE, easy to read font, printed it out on bright paper and cut out the words. After cutting out the words, we laminated each one and added Velcro to the back for a temporary hold. We placed the poem in the front of our department in the shape of a (yellow) sun!

Share a Story 2012: A Quick Look Back

We had several notes over the weekend from folks who were "just now" catching up on Share a Story - Shape a Future 2012 and reading the posts. We hope you're still basking in all that great, positive energy!!

We also had a couple of other items and additions that I wanted to highlight. I'll be adding them to our Comprehensive Index of Posts and List of Contributors, but I also want to share them here.

ALSC (ALA's Association for Library Service to Children) announced the redesign of the Great Web Sites for Kids site. Newly evaluated and accepted sites are added to the database three times a year. The committee also reviews all sites within the database twice a year to guarantee sites are still relevant, appropriate and accessible.

Recognizing bias: This 2 ½ minute video uses a pizza restaurant ad to give students a succinct introduction to the concept of bias. It also presents three specific questions students can ask to detect bias in the media and their daily lives. (Social studies, Social responsibility, Literacy)

How do I love this series by Cressida Cowell? I actually don't mind adding to the growing collection!

This information applies to 2012. I'm not sure if this will be an annual event. Connected Educator Month is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and several organizations are sponsoring programs and activities, including AASL and SETDA, the State Educational Technology Directors Association. So what is CEM, anyway? "Online communities and learning networks are helping hundreds of thousands of educators learn, reducing isolation and providing 'just in time' access to knowledge and opportunities for collaboration. However, many educators are not yet participating and others aren't realizing the full benefits. In many cases, schools, districts, and states also are not recognizing and rewarding this essential professional learning. For these reasons, the U.S. Department of Education's Connected Educators initiative has made August 2012 Connected Educator Month. Throughout the month, there will be coordinated opportunities to participate in events and activities in dozens of online locations to develop skills and enhance one's personal learning network." As one ad for the program proclaims, it's "all of August, all for free, all online - shape the future of the profession." Explore activities in the starter kit at your own pace: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38904447/starter-kit-final.pdf