Glogster - Laurie Halse Anderson - May 5th, 2009

After much chagrin, and 3 attempts, I finally got this to successfully work and really enjoyed working within it. So I am going to try and share the link. We just read "Wintergirls" and I'm taking my Teen Tuesdays Teen reading group to this event. Hope to see you all there too.
http://shariann.glogster.com/glog-8497-2631/

Thing 11: Taking Notes

What valuable tools they have available @readingquest.org for strategies for notetaking. Not only do they explain the process but they also provide printables. I really liked "Power Thinking", "Problem-Solution" and "Questioning the Author". A great, handy tool to keep at the READY. Take a look @ http://www.readingquest.org/strat/. Another Delicious find. Found "Before, During, and After" also great because it would help a teacher choose which might work best for the desired result http://www.readingquest.org/strat/bdaframe.html. Check it out!

Thing 8: Public Library Databases

Though I already was familiar with all of these databases and have used them from time to time, it was fun to go to Melsa's new Teen Books just to see what they were featuring and I took a look at the new books titles. As budgets are stressed, I see an even more important need to know about the resources beyond our Media Center walls. NOW I see an extreme need for streamlining and accessing ALL the resources we have surrounding us.

Thing 7: PicSearch

I found this a refreshing new website to locate images and pictures. And I can certainly say that the article that talks about the 50 web search engines really highlighted some interesting places to go. What makes this really usable is the way it groups the sites by category. I also liked the science-related and library media sections which I think will be especially useful. I've added these to my Delicious favorites so I can go back and use them whenever I want to. I need to add some of these to my Media Center page too. If ever it is a time to learn time management and organizational skills....the time is now. There is so much to learn and SOOO little time.

Thing 7

I really liked the Meta Search Engine PolyCola and SearchBoth because they allow me to search more than 1 search engine @ a time. Powerful and I added some to my toolbar. To be able to search Google and Yahoo or any of several other meta search engines provides a great time saver and takes the guess work out of which might offer the best information for the task. I enjoyed looking at these. It has been a long time since I have used MetaCrawler and was good to be refreshed with this one too. YAHOO!

Thing 6: 4Teachers.org

Great tools can be found at this location from rubrics, to ease of creating quizes. I want to make sure that I keep this website handy. It was also fun to customize and add tools to my own iGoogle page. I feel like the technology speed has surpassed the speed of light and sound...I think I am in need of more physical tools to keep pace. It sure is fun learning about some of these great tools. Don't know what I will do without MILI...it forces me to spend time exploring without wandering away - what an extremely valuable opportunity we have enjoyed!

Thing 6: Going Deeper

I just found some great Google Posters that can be put out for students to help them become better Google searchers...I especially liked the ones entitled "Better Searches, Better Results". I have saved them in a Poster File so I can print and use with students in the Chaska Library Media Center.