Category Archives: General

General, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended App: Pixel Press Floors

pixelLast June, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) came out with their 25 Best Apps for Teaching & Learning. The apps were chosen because they foster innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration.

This week we highlight the app Pixel Press Floors. This is a social gaming/problem solving app that inspires kids to create, and literally draw their own video games! The best part is they can then share them with their friends to play and critique.

The app is FREE for iOS devices and AASL recommends it for Intermediate and Secondary students. Check out the promo video below:

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Need makerspace ideas or gadgets?

Tecnologia - Technology (2)By now, you’ve probably heard about makerspaces. (If not, catch up here). Here at CMLE, we think they are pretty exciting. All the opportunities for hands-on learning and creation! But it’s easy to find the endless possibilities slightly overwhelming. Wondering where to start? CMLE has done that work for you! We’ve published a great deal about makerspaces, and want to share our wealth of knowledge! See below for ideas and inspiration, tools to use, and where to find makerspaces.

 

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pkdbtf9, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

How do YOU save the users time?

IMG90862Have you heard of LibrariesInLife? I am not quite sure what to name it, but OCLC Next recently did a bang up job of proposing a way using Twitter to get conversations going about how you and I save our users time. They write clearly about the convenience imperative…and venture that in today’s fast moving world, that convenience trumps everything else. Today’s dilemma for librarians is about how to “free our users’ time.” They go on to propose that Ranganathan’s Fourth Law of saving the time of the reader, should now be first! Makes sense to me….I witness this all the time when friends or family want to read a book but do not want to wait for it through the public library. With one touch, they simply buy the eBook online and the transaction is over! It is hard to argue with that kind of convenience.

Take five minutes to read the full post to better understand what this conversation is all about.

On Twitter, join in the conversation with hashtags #LibrariesInLife and #OCLCnext. Can’t read one more thing? Listen to  Lynn Silipigni-Connaway in this video as she describes this work.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qhnqv3o, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
General, School Media Specialist

Six tools for creating videos on Chromebooks

Flaming LightbulbHas your school made a switch to using Chromebooks? Wondering how to get the most out of the video features? This article features six video tools that work well with Chromebooks.

WeVideo is the most recommended tool of the six. It has the most features available, including templates for new users to follow, the ability to upload your own media clips, and an app that allows you to save your video projects in Google Drive. It even has apps for Android and iPhone so students can use their own images and videos in their projects.

Interested in using animation in your videos? Try Wideo or Powtoon. They also include user-friendly templates, slideshows, and the ability to add your own narration.

Finally, the article also includes two helpful how-to videos, one about Stupeflix (where you aren’t required to create an account!) and the other showing audio slideshow creation on YouTube.

If you are looking for classroom video tips in general, check out our earlier post here.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/q2demy8, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

#CatBooks: Title rewrites with cats as audience!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mmw5y8x, licensed under CC BY 2.0This installment of Just for Fun, reminds you to smile!

Nothing goes together better than cats and books. Read on for some edits of popular titles made just for cats!

The Lord of the Strings from @_wintergirl93

The Color Purrple from @Wieneraaron

The Perks of Eating a Wallflower from @MilesToGo13

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: A Comprehensive Guide to Luring your Prey from @rick_wittkopp65

One Hundred Years of Catitude from @KahluaSin

The Power of Meow from @heyitsjessyoung

Read the whole article here (includes some great visual aids)

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mmw5y8x, licensed under CC BY 2.0