Google DemoSlams

After spending a few hours at the Googleplex being interviewed about my search strategy (what a scary thought...), I was asked if I could have anything more to help me search, what would it be.  I said "voice", the abilty to state what I wanted rather than type it in.  Then I said that there must already be an app for that on mobile devices.  

As it turns out, Google Voice does just that on mobile phones.  See "Chubby Bunny", one of the best demos featuring Google Voice.  Better yet, spend your lunchtime with DemoSlam by Google.  If you have a large screen monitor, it would be fun for a bunch of teachers or students to watch and vote for their favorite demos.


Here's an idea: Challenge middle and high school students to create demos and submit them -- use the school library as a backdrop!  Learn how to submit a demo to Google.  Have a blast.

DigiDesiderata - video and posters

Petaluma HS teacher librarian Connie Williams alerted CSLA members to this video that was created by Nancy Willard, Director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use.



Nancy Willard says that DigiDesiderata is a version of Max Erhmann's Desiderata that encouraged digital civility. Posters are available at http://www.zazzle.com/digidesiderata*.   The original Desiderata was published by Max Ehrmann in 1927.

Instructional materials are available at the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use - http://csriu.org.

60second Recap - Book Trailers

Recommendation from Teacher Librarian Rebecca Johnston:

(CALIBK12 listserv)

"Here [60Second Recap] is a great site for your English teachers.  The host, Jenny Sawyer, gives 1 minute video summaries of topics on many literary classics.  There are 10 videos for each title including the plot, cast of characters, themes, context, motifs, a trailer, and a conclusion.  She also has several videos on literary terms and how to write a paper.  The style is fresh, entertaining, and innovative and very connected to the standards for English literature.  Most of our required reading is covered including Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Oedipus Rex, Romeo and Juliet, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and many more.  Jenny also has her "Pick of the Week" which is a video trailer on current YA titles."

"The only negative is the videos are hosted on YouTube so if YouTube is blocked at school you will not be able to stream them.  I had to download them for the teachers :-( "

Here is an article about Jenny, the host of 60 Second Recap http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-07-jenny-sawyer-60-second-recap-classics_N.htm

 

Rebecca Johnston

Teacher Librarian

Redlands East Valley High School

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be
called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein

CardStar iPhone App for Your Library Card Barcode

Some libraries are now using a mobile app, CardStar, to include your library card barcode.  This allows you to keep your library and other cards at home.  See this video explanation by Hinsdale Public Library in Illinois.

Social Media Revoution -- New YouTube

The future is here. Don't get left behind! Why it is so important for educators to learn web 2.0 tools:

1. See newest version of Social Media Revolution (below)
2. Sign up immediately for Classroom Learning 2.0 or School Library Learning 2.0
   

Share widely!
Help your friends get comfortable with social media.
If you work with young people, try the new Teen Learning 2.0 tutorial by the California School Library Association.

Birth of a Classic: Online Companion

The worlds foremost math handbook for nearly 50 years and the most cited publication in the history of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) now has a fresh look, updated data and a new digital companion. The Handbook of Mathematical Functions has been updated and available online as the National Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. See the video below.



Looks excellent and long-overdue. Is this tool useful for high school students, too?

Social Media Online Guide

Here's a colorful and useful guide to social media from SMO.com that is downloadable. It includes 10 websites (left column) by customer communication, brand exposure, traffic to your site, and SEO (search engine optimization).

Websites covered include:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Flickr
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• DIGG
• StumbleUpon
• Yahoo! b
• Reddit
• Del.icio.us
  

Decorate your library, lab, office, or classroom.

Social Media is NOT a fad... - YouTube Video

Tom Kahn alerted me to a YouTube video he saw on the LM_Net listserv. Title is Social Media Revolution. Check it out.

Digital Ethnography - by Dr. Michael Wesch

A Web 2.0 group on LinkedIn posted a recommendation to watch a YouTube video presentation on Digital Ethnography entitled "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube"by Dr. Michael Wesch of Kansas State University. Wesch is known for his YouTube video on "The Machine is Us/Using Us". Well-worth the hour-long presentation. This was a the Library of Congress presentation in June 2008.

YouTube EDU -- Higher Education Videos and Channels

YouTube now has an "edu" section for college and university videos and channels. Search by topic, directory, most subscribed, most viewed. Lots of videos on commencement, on promoting the campus or welcoming students, lectures, and special events. UCBerkeley, Stanford, CSU Sonoma State, UCDavis, and UCLA each have hundreds of videos. The number and quality will continue to grow. Check to them out!

The Time Machine - a next step in online videos

The 2/4/2009 Wall Street Journal carried an item headlined "Video Sites Entice Users to Stay and Play." Several web-video sites have added new features that allow for and encourage interaction. The one example given was "The Time Machine" by a comedy production company, ChadMatt&Rob. The Time Machine is just like a storybook that at certain dramatic moments asks the reader to select one of several possible directions and the reader has to turn to a certain page to learn how the story progresses. In this case, video viewers get to click and choose what the characters will do next. When they click, they are linked to a new video where the characters continue on (or die).

It can be great fun, but the real goal of "stay and play" technology is to keep viewers online as long as possible for the benefit of advertisers, according to the Wall Street Journal. From a storytelling perspective, it could be a great way for students to learn how to tell stories. From a training perspective, it could be a good way to visually reinforce consequences of actions -- such as safety or ethics training.

You Tube Quick Capture at Mac World

Post #2 from Mac World in San Francisco. A cool blogger was spoted in a red British phone booth, recording a message. Check it out.