Web2.0 Professional Development

In late June, I led two three-hour professional development sessions for teachers at my school.  One was geared toward teachers in grades 5-12 and the other was geared toward teachers in grades K-4.  Initially I was planning on creating two separate presentations, but then a 2-week trip to Europe changed those plans.  I decided, instead, to create one presentation that would have something for everybody.  I covered all the tools with both groups, but spent more time on different tools for each group and focused on how they could be used differently with each group.  The feedback from both sessions was positive, so I'm glad it worked out!

View presentation here or watch it embedded below.

Web2.0 - grades 5-12 on Prezi

GoogleDocs+Prezi+Screenr = Collaboration

Each year the 8th graders do a research project on the Cambodian genocide before reading the book, Children of the River.  This year we decided to revamp the project completely!  First, we wanted to integrate the new research model and we also wanted to have the students create a product other than a powerpoint.   So, I sat down with the two eighth grade language arts teachers and the eighth grade special education teacher to map out our two week plan (in the end it turned out to be 2 1/2 weeks).  The finished project was awesome and required a huge amount of collaboration by the students with googledocs, prezi, and screenr. 

Step 1 - Research
The first day we spent going through the first steps of our research process (PLUSS) - Plan and Locate and Use.

• I began with the PLAN step - we talked about organizing our information by creating areas of focus.  These areas of focus would allow us to place the information we find in an appropriate area which organizes our research.  As a class we brainstormed topics to use for our areas of focus.  
• Next, we moved to USE - I created a practice sheet for going through the USE step.  I had pulled out a few paragraphs of information that we could go through as a class to practice identifying the important information and paraphrasing it.  So, first I assigned one area of focus and then when they broke out into their group work, they had to come up with a second area of focus to use in this practice worksheet.  I walked them through the first few sentences as a class.  Then, they worked with the people at their table to go through the rest of the information - reading it sentence by sentences, deciding if it is important information, determining what area of focus it belonged under (coming up with their own area of focus), and paraphrasing it.
• Finally, we moved to LOCATE - I showed them the pathfinder I had created for them using LibGuides.  I gathered a variety of sources that they could use in their research.

After my instruction, the students were assigned their topics and had to begin their research with PLAN.  This required them to gain background information on their topic and determine the areas of focus they would use.  I used our subscription to Britannica to find good overview research articles for them to use for this step.  The students had to read through the article and come up with their areas of focus to use to fill out their graphic organizer before being allowed to move onto the next step of research.


The embedded Issuu includes almost all of the documents and lesson plans I created for the research portion of the project.



Step 2 - Create a Prezi
Once the research was completed, the students set up their prezi accounts.  One student created the Prezi and shared the link with their partner so that they could both work on their pezi together.  We talked to the students about limiting the amount of written information they put in a presentation because they would be adding more information while talking and recording their presentation.
The students had a little trouble thinking outside of the powerpoint mode when creating a prezi.  Some of them still have that "powerpoint" feel, but a lot of the students truly embraced the flexibility and creativity that prezi afforded them.  The little people that move across the screen while collaborating were a big hit too :)

Mekong River on Prezi

Khmer Rouge on Prezi

Step 3 - Write a Script using GoogleDocs
Once the prezis were created, the students had to write a script to use when recording their presentations.  We broke out googledocs again and the students were able to work simultaneously on writing their scripts.

Step 4 - Record a Presentation using Screenr 
After two days of practice, the students were ready to record.  It was a great scene to see the students dotted across the library at tables, on the floor, in between the shelves, and on the soft-seating recording their finished product.

Step 5 - Watch Finished Presentations
It took about two class periods to watch the completed presentations.  A googleform was created for each class for the students to submit the link to their recorded screencast which made pulling up each one in class a quick and easy process.  After each presentation, the students had to think-pair-share about one thing they learned about Cambodia and/or the Cambodian Genocide from the presentation.

Newbie Presenter

This past weekend was my first presentation (other than at school, of course). I was a presenter at the 37th annual Pennsylvania State Librarian's Association Conference.

I'm happy with how the presentation went. There are a few things that I wish I would have done differently in hindsight. I wish I would have taken 5 minutes at the beginning of the presentation to make sure everyone in the audience was able to get to the online portion of my presentation. A few people were having trouble finding the link on the conference wiki. I also wish I would have scheduled about 5 minutes between each application I was talking about to answer a few questions. Oh well, next time I'll try to remember to do those things. Live and learn:)


I began with a short presentation embedded below:


At the end of the presentation, I linked out to a poll by Poll Everywhere. I wanted to get an idea of where everyone in the group was at in terms of using applications like glogster, wordle, audacity, etc.

Then I launched into the content of my presentation using a LiveBinder I created. I absolutely LOVE LiveBinders for presentations because your presentation then becomes a resource binder for those in the audience. My session focused on creating multi-media book projects. I talked to teacher librarians about how to make book projects 2.0-style and allow students to learn important 21st century skills - creative commons, visual literacy, communication, etc.

Book Projects 2.0

It is amazing how a presentation that can take hours upon hours to create and organize, is over in 1 hour and 15 minutes. I wanted more time, but the time I did have was great and the participants were wonderful!

Number 1 photo used under Creative Commons license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/2115400318/.

Technology Boot Camp

It is hard to believe that another school year is over. However, unlike the start of many summers, I spent the first two weeks at school. Between participating in our school's technology camp and helping interview candidates for the high school librarian position, my summer vacation was "postponed" for a little over a week. I cannot say anything about the interviews. However, it was an interesting process to be a part of and deciding upon the best candidate for the job is not always an easy task. The technology camp was an exciting endeavor initiated by our two wonderful technology coaches. I like to think of it as a "boot camp" for many of our teachers. It gave them an initiation into the world technology and its uses in the classroom. I think many of them caught the technology bug!

This year our high school participated in the Classrooms for the Future grant. With this grant, the high school hired a classrooms for the future (CFF) coach. The success of the high school caused my superintendent to want to bring on a coach for the middle and elementary schools. Much of what a CFF coach does mirrors and/or supports what librarians do. I was lucky enough to work with two excellent technology coaches, who were always willing to work with me and share ideas. So, I was thrilled when they recruited me to help them with two of the days in the technology camp.

I led a day training teachers how to use Interwrite Pads. I absolutely love my Interwrite pad. Interwrite Pads provide all the functionality of a SmartBoard or a Promethean Board, however, they are mobile. I (and my students) can annotate websites, interact with Word documents, control the computer, and much more from anywhere in the room. Here is the wiki I created for the teachers using Interwrite Pads.

The second day, I led the instruction on podcasting. The teachers used Audacity to create a short podcast. We also talked about how podcasting could be used with students and how to display the students' finished products. This led into further discussion about glogster and nings which led to discussion on all things Web 2.0. I showed them my Web2HowTo wiki and encouraged them to sign up for all the technology camp sessions if they had not already.

The general technology comfort level of the teachers who participated was low. However, they were all open to and excited about learning. As the teachers finished the podcasting session, I left them with a short video that I found on YouTube. I think many of them could identify with the video and it gave them a few laughs.



The technology camp created a forum for teachers to be introduced to, play with, and think about technology and its uses in the classroom. It gave me a forum to interact with many of my teachers at once and discuss new projects to implement with their students using the technologies to which they were introduced. I give a lot of credit to our two technology coaches for initiating, planning, and conducting such a successful camp. I would love to create a "Help Desk" night once a month to build upon this initiative. The idea of after-school sessions for teachers was planted by Kim Corfino's insightful post on PD sessions. To implement a "Help Desk" night once a month would be a great way to provide teachers with the continued support and instruction they will need.

Boots photo used under Creative Commons license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/72731134@N00/275276240/

21st Century Book Talks

Earlier this month our school celebrated Read Across America Day. We invited guest readers to come into the Language Arts classes to read aloud to the students and interact with them about books. I was invited to read to 5 classes. For the 7th and 8th grade classes I read to, I ended with some book talks. However, I decided that I would try something new.

I created a presentation on one of my favorite sites, Sliderocket. I was able to add a mixture of book covers and book trailers. The students loved the book trailers . . . picture students staring in rapt attention with mouths slightly open as a book is being promoted:)

Harper Teen has a wonderful YouTube channel that features book trailers and interviews with authors. So, I converted a few of the video to insert into the presentation. The result is a great advertisement for books that I can use from year to year with different classes.

Book Rainbow photo used under Creative Commons License from http://www.flickr.com/photos/candiedwomanire/1651870/sizes/m/