Library Links

"Content that might be of interest to Teacher-Librarians..."


10.2.12

Showcase for teen writers

Submit poetry, stories, and short plays by writers aged 13-19

The Claremont Review publishes high quality poetry, stories, and short plays by writers aged 13-19. Though it's based in Canada, the Claremont Review showcases writers from all over the English-speaking world.

Teen Ink, a monthly magazine, book series, and website written entirely by teens, publishes articles on politics, the environment, health, and culture, as well as poetry, short stories, reviews, and art. Learn more about submitting your work to them here.

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Excel for Educators

Unlock the Power of Excel

Lots of tips, suggestions for use by teachers, with students. Formulas, graphing, as well as recommended Android and iOS apps.

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Story of the Week

A Monday Lit Break

"Every Monday The Library of America features a free Story of the Week. It could be anything: a short work of fiction, a character sketch, an essay, a journalist's dispatch, a poem. What is certain is that it will be memorable, because every story is from one of the hundreds of classic books of American literature published by The Library of America."

Signup for the email here:

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Aimez votre bibliothèque scolaire... une affiche

Une affiche pour le 14 février

Un beau poster en français de la part de l'APS des enseignants-bibliothécaires.   À diffuser dans les écoles.  À mettre dans les classes aussi!

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8.2.12

Youblisher.com - create flippable eBooks

You're the publisher!

Within minutes, Youblisher will turn your magazines, presentations, comics, storybooks, in short ANY pdf document, into publications with flippable pages!

Your book/magazine gets a URL that shows only your document, with no other ads or content on the side. Perfect for publishing a classbook or project. Finished work can even be embedded.

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Reader's Advisory with Cover Images!

A dazzling constellation of book covers

Based on the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought..." links, Andrei Kashcha has used Amazon data to create a dazzling constellation of book covers which link to related titles. The search defaults to books, but the dropdown menu will let you search for CDs, jewelry, musical instruments, etc, etc.  Rolling your mousewheel lets you zoom in or out on the constellation of recommendations. Click once on a cover to find out more about the book, or double click to redo the search using your new choice.

Just type in a book title to see how it works!

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Noticias - Revista Mary Glasgow

A specialist language publisher - Spanish Content  http://es.maryglasgowplus.com/students/features

Articles on a variety of topics. View the text and listen to the article being read in a very clear and slow manner. Each article is available in 3 "flavours", from beginner to more advanced. The text and audio are differentiated accordingly. There is a small selection of free articles every month, with additional content viewable by subscribers. MP3s can be downloaded. (There is an archive as well.) Somewhat eurocentric.

"Mary Glasgow Magazines es una editorial ubicada en el centro de Londres y especializada en la enseñanza de idiomas. En ella trabaja un equipo de escritores, editores y diseñadores especializados en la elaboración de revistas, libros, material auditivo y páginas web para alumnos de lenguas extranjeras en secundaria."

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Actualités en français- Revue Mary Glasgow

A specialist language publisher - French Content

Articles on a variety of topics. View the text and listen to the article being read in a very clear and slow manner. Each article is available in 4 "flavours", from beginner to more advanced. The text and audio are differentiated accordingly. There is a small selection of free articles every month, with additional content viewable by subscribers. MP3s can be downloaded. (There is an archive as well.) Somewhat eurocentric.

"Mary Glasgow Magazines est une maison d'édition spécialisée dans l'enseignement des langues étrangères modernes dont les bureaux se trouvent à Londres. Mary Glasgow Magazines publie des magazines, des livres, des ressources audio, vidéo et Internet pour les élèves qui apprennent le français, l'anglais, l'espagnol ou l'allemand comme langue étrangère au secondaire."

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SMART Technologies Magazine

EDCompass™ magazine

"EDCompass™ magazine is full of tips for using SMART Notebook collaborative learning software and links to ready-made lessons. Graphics, video and interactive features complement the magazine's content, which is available as a PDF for back issues or in digital format for the current issue."

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Interactive Dice in Notebook

How to "Jazz up" your dice

Make your own dice with personalized sides, use different kinds of dice, add words (good for poetry, story writing), multiple dice (generating numbers for Math), Language Dice (says the number in the target language

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How it works - Magazine

Engaging Science!

Website, magazine, books, iPad app: With expert explanations, dynamic cutaways and breathtaking photography "How It Works" aims to inspire readers of all ages to explore the wonders of science, space, technology, history, transport and the environment. (Note: Some content is only available to subscribers.) Top 5 Facts and Videos have great teasers for the classroom.

For example: This is a great video showing the air traffic throughout the world over a 24 hour period.

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NSTA Selected Chapters of Science Pro-D Books

Bestsellers from the Science Store - Selected Chapters and eBooks

Take your e-reader for a spin with one of NSTA Press's most popular e-books! Download chapters, and some cases entire books for your eReading pleasure. Use these readings as the basis of a study group or PLC for science teachers.

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7.2.12

Scholastic Magazines in French

French language magazines for the classroom.

Scholastic has four French language magazines for the FSL classroom. Articles often have a Eurocentric focus but the language level is good for learners. Useful for both Immersion and FSL programs. Available as PDFs to view on screen, project or download via EBSCO subscription databases.

Allons-y (Scholastic) Level 1

Bonjour (Scholastic) Level 2

Ca va? (Scholastic) Level 3

Chez Nous (Scholastic) Level 4

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Finding Flow In the Writer’s Workshop

Giving feedback and managing student drafts

Katie is a fifth grade teacher in the Chicago Public School system. She writes about how she is using tech tools to streamline her Writer's Workshop: iPads, Dropbox, Edmodo, Word, etc.

"I think I've finally found a good flow with my cycle of receiving student work and giving them feedback.  This has been especially hard in Writer's Workshop where I've been hemming and hawing about which practices to cling to and which ones to let go."

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APPitic - 1,300+ EDUapps

A directory of iOS apps for education

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. (Arranged by age, theme and Bloom.)

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Starfall's Learn to Read with phonics

A systematic phonics approach

Phonemic awareness for primary students. (The site is slowly offering content via iPod/iPad apps. Note: apps only offer one module of the site.) Check the bottom of the site for the "Download Center" where you can print out colouring sheets, Lltter pages, readers' theatre. and more.

"Starfall.com opened in September of 2002. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL)."

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Create ePubs on your iPad

5 Apps for Creating Interactive Books and ePubs on your iPad

Some interesting iPad applications for those looking to harness the creativity of students. In particular, the free app Composer may be a good way to to introduce kids and other authors to this exciting new possibility.

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PBL Checklist Creator

Generate your own checklists

Generate your own checklists to support Project Based Learning and evaluation. Choose from a number of criteria or add specialized ones you input yourself. Produces a clear, easy to follow checklist for students to use.

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First Voices

Aboriginal language teaching & culture revitalization

FirstVoices is a suite of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching & culture revitalization.  The FirstVoices Language Archive contains thousands of text entries in many diverse Aboriginal writing systems, enhanced with sounds, pictures and videos.  A companion set of interactive online games is designed to present the archived FirstVoices language data in creative learning activities.

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The Early Canadiana Online collection

Rare books, magazines and government publications

The Early Canadiana Online collection of rare books, magazines and government publications has over 80,000 titles (3,500,000 pages) and is growing. The collection includes material published from the time of the first European settlers to the first four decades of the 20th Century.

You will find books written in 21 languages including French, English, 10 First Nations languages and several European languages, Latin and Greek.

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Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples

An overview of the geographical and social framework of Canada

The Encyclopedia was originally created and published by The Multicultural History Society of Ontario (©1999). (A print copy can still be purchased from MHS. This website provides is a text-only version.) Some useful historical persepectives.

"This encylopedia provides an overview of people within the geographical and social framework of Canada. Each group entry outlines origins; migration; arrival and settlement; economic life; community life; family and kinship; culture; education; religion; politics; intergroup relations; group maintenance and ethnic commitment; and bibliography. First Nations, are listed under an entry called Aboriginals. Included are peoples such as the Acadians, Amish, French Canadians, Metis, and Mormons. World regional identities for Arabs, Caribbean Peoples, and South Asians in Canada are also noted."

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the Caldecott Medal Home Page

Caldecott Medal Winners and Honor Books (1938-Present)

2012 Medal Winner
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

Honor Books:
Blackout by John Rocco
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

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Understanding Digital Learners

Not digital "natives vs immigrants" but "visitors vs residents"

"David White and his colleagues at Oxford University are doing some interesting research. [...] they are finding there is much more to how learners are engaging with digital technologies and digital information than age and technology. This interview provides an overview of their findings to date and explains the digital visitors and residents framework that is guiding their research."

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When Social Media Meet Social Change - Presentation

Cute Cats and the Arab Spring: (Ethan Zuckerman)

In the 2011 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture, Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, looks at the "cute cat" theory of internet activism, and how it helps explain the Arab Spring. He discusses how activists around the world are turning to social media tools which are extremely powerful, easy to use and difficult for governments to censor. The Vancouver Human Rights Lecture is co-sponsored by the UBC Continuing Studies, the Laurier Institution, and Yahoo.

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6.2.12

Série de vidéos et ressources sur les TBI

Les Tableaux Blancs Interactifs

"Dans le cadre du rendez-vous virtuel du RÉCIT, le RÉCIT national de l'univers social a donné un atelier sur le TBI qui abordait différents sujets comme des exemples d'approche pédagogique, la formation et l'accompagnement des enseignants ainsi que les plans TIC des écoles et des commissions scolaires."

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"Making the Match" - Finding the right book

The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time,
(Grades 4-12) by Teri Lesesne

Excellent Book. Worth reading. Preview online.

"What motivates some adolescents to become lifelong readers and others to slide by with the minimum amount of assigned reading? Teri Lesesne says the key is finding the books that get them hooked in the first place. In Making the Match she offers guidance in three distinct areas that will assist teachers and librarians in steering students to the literature they love: knowing the readers, knowing the books, and knowing the strategies."

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Make a "Love your Library" mini-poster

Love Your Library - with Image Chef

Paste in words and let ImageChef arrange them inside a geometric shape. Explore user custom shapes or use one of the pre-set ones. (You can even design your own.) Complete images can be downloaded, used as wallpaper on your library circ station or as a slideshow on a Digital Frame. Print up a few with a colour printer and use the images on bookmarks and mini-posters. Great for all kinds of occasions.


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Gapminder - Comparing World Data

Converting boring numbers into interactive graphics

Compare countries using a variety of data inputs.

"The Trendalyzer software unveils the beauty of statistical time series by converting boring numbers into enjoyable, animated and interactive graphics. The current version of Trendalyzer is available since March 2006 as Gapminder World, a web-service displaying time series of development statistics for all countries."

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Art Babble - showcase of video art content

The world of art through video

Interviews and overviews of artists - famous and soon-to-be famous.

"ArtBabble was conceived, initiated, designed, built, sculpted, programmed, shot, edited, painted and launched by a cross-departmental collection of individuals at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). It is intended to showcase video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives. ArtBabble was created so others will join in spreading the world of art through video."

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Public domain audio books

A visual browsing experience for audio books

Audio files and links to free text versions

"All audio books on BooksShouldBeFree.com are in the public domain. The majority of of these books are digitized by Gutenberg.org and recorded by Librivox.org. BSBF draws on these public domain sources to deliver free audio books to you in an engaging and fun way. Enjoy the browsing experience on our website and be sure to bookmark us and return when youre ready for you're next audio book!"

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CBC Podcasting Links

CBC Podcasts - on one page

Don't want to subscribe to a show in iTunes, but would like to browse the occasional episode? Check out the programs on this page.

"We keep podcast episodes available for a standard four weeks or one month. Certain programs have special permission to keep their episodes online longer and other shows have their episodes available for less time."

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Original and classic children’s audio stories

Stories to delight and inspire children

The mission of The Story Home is to provide original and classic children's audio stories for free, to delight and inspire children and their families, throughout the world. Many Fairy Tales to listen to!

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Globe Theatre - Paper model

Globe Theatre building

"The above model was made from details found from historical etchings and prints of the original Globe Theatre. This required quite a bit of research as there were actually three Globe Theatre buildings, and inaccuracies abound. This model represents the Globe as it probably looked around the time that Shakespeare's plays were presented there (1599-1608)."

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The Bluford Series - Free Audio Book Selection

Young adult novels set in contemporary urban America

15 titles available for online listening, or can be downloaded for iPod or other mp3 reader.

The Bluford Series is a collection of fifteen young adult novels that focus on the lives of a group of high school students and their families. The series draws its name from the school which many of the characters attend: Bluford High, named after Guion "Guy" Bluford, America's first black astronaut.

Set in contemporary urban America, each novel addresses complex topics relevant to the lives of today's students: family, friendship, trust, isolation, violence, and peer pressure, to name a few.

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How to Choose Strong Passwords

What's in a Password?

This short video clip gives your staff and students a good strategy for creating and remembering unique passwords.

Also:


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"Books that my boys love"

Find Books your boys (or girls) will love

The focus is more for Primary level kids, but you will also find links to author sites and some nice summaries of new and classic titles.

"This blog is my space to share with you the books that my boys love.  Maybe you'll find some that your boys (or girls) will love too. I aim to highlight a variety of books, both classics and new releases, thrift store treasures and store bought finds.  I hope to include a variety of Canadian, multicultural, and indigenous authors, books, and publishing houses."

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A Reflection on Weeding

"I Can't Believe You're Throwing Out Books! "

A great "take" on the importance of weeding. Read the whole article on the "Perfect Whole" blog by Julie Goldberg (Ed.M., MA, MLIS) - school librarian, former English teacher, and compulsive reader.

"[...] Every librarian has had frustrating phone calls from community members cleaning out their attics or basements and generously offering the library their mildewed, water-damaged, dusty or disintegrating books, often vast mass-market paperback collections from the 60s and 70s, long-forgotten titles printed on the cheapest kind of paper.  Or 85 years of National Geographic.  They want to know where to drop off books and magazines to donate them to the library.  Many are shocked and offended to learn that both public and school libraries generally do not accept donations of books that are more than two or three years old. [...]"

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