ANIMOTO Rocks!!!

I just wanted to share an awesome site with all of you because it’s one of the best, easiest-to-use tools I’ve seen. It may have been discussed here previously, but even if it has been covered before,  it is well worth mentioning again!!

Animoto is a website where images are used to create video as opposed to still slides. The transitions between photos are most engaging! The music audio that can be selected or imported makes the video even more entertaining.

Applications for uploading to an iPhone, blog site, Facebook, email, even YouTube are available. Use it to create content for your lesson plans, assignments, or course materials. You can also have your students create their own educational pieces. At the Animoto site, you can access a printable flyer to use for staff development or faculty meetings to help teachers see excellent uses for Animoto in their instruction.
Here are a few ideas for Animoto…

Create:

An invitation to an event;
A message to family or friends with a video made from your photos;
A documentary of your local community
A science experiment
A field trip
Lesson teaching colors to Kindergarteners
Yearbook for your class
Author’s tea, with original stories from students
Step-by-step instructions for anything!

The list goes on and on…the teacher or student is only limited by their imagination!

Animoto is free to use for creating short videos of a limited number of seconds. Music selections are limited when using the free option. However, once you’ve used this little gem, you will find it is well worth the $30 per YEAR to create full length feature videos with music or narration of your choice. It is not only educational and easy to use, but it’s FUN!

Phyllis Snipes,
University of West Georgia

GLMA Summer Institute Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians Resource Page

Georgia Library Media Wiki – GLMA Summer Institute Web 2.0 Resources via kwout

Please surf over to our GLMA wiki to see our “Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians” resource page!  Here you will find helpful “how to” videos and real-world examples of how school libraries, as well as public and academic, are using Web 2.0 tools to promote their library programs, enhance information literacy instruction, and use social media as an emerging form of social scholarship.   We hope you find this page to be a valuable learning resource wherever you may be on your Library 2.0 journey of learning!

Please note that most of these tools are FREE to you to use!  This page offers you a treasure trove of resources that won’t cost your budget one penny.

Buffy Hamilton, School Library Media Specialist
Creekview High School

Monday’s Morning Session

GLMA Summer Institute 2009

Check the Delicious feed at the right for resources mentioned during the Summer Institute.

Susan Grigsby opened today’s session with remarks concerning the importance of data-driven decision-making of our media programs.  By demonstrating evidence-based practice in the schools, we reinforce the profound effect of a media program on student achievement in the school.  As an organization, we need to align the GPS to the Standards of the 21^st Century Learner to help demonstrate how a media program aligns to student learning.

GPS alignment has begun with work on elementary ELA standards.  After uploading the standards documents to Google docs, media specialists are collaboratively working on determining which standards coincide with information literacy skills.

Mary Parrish walked everyone through creating an account on Georgia Standards (GSO) to use the lesson builder component.  Log on to the website to create your account.  You can create work groups to enhance collaborative work.  The site is a way to build a database of standards-based lesson plans, activities, and support for all educators.

Summer Reading the Web 2.0 Way

Last night I attended the webinar on the Future of Books and Reading. I have to admit that I lost track of the discussion because I got so distracted looking at one of the new Web 2.0 tools that 2 of the presenters had developed. It’s called Book Glutton (now that’s a great name!). The idea is that they’ve taken books no longer under copyright restrictions (so lots of classics of course). You can access the electronic versions of the text and mark them up as you read them. The real Web 2.0 wrinkle is that you can form groups who can read the books together and annotate them together! What a cool way to bring a fresh look to some classic titles. You can set up  your own group or join an existing group.

I found an interesting group called Junior English Summer 2009 (currently reading Wuthering Heights). In a recent post in the Washington Post, Ron Charles shared that the Montgomery County school system can no longer require specific summer reading titles because students can no longer be required to purchase school related materials (a topic for another blog post I guess). Mr. Charles says that’s a great way to promote the use of the library (and the advice of librarians). It also might be a great way to get students to try out Book Glutton!

Judi Repman

GLMA Summer Institute Agenda

GLMA Summer Institute
June 22-23, 2009
Macon State College

Dear Colleagues:

The GLMA Summer Institute will be held next Monday and Tuesday (June 22-23, 2009) at Macon State College in Macon, GA. This year’s theme is “Recipe for Success: GPS is the Spice and the Media Specialist is the Chef” and we’ve put together an exciting agenda that will be a great working and learning opportunity to help you integrate GPS into your program.

Because we will also be working during this meeting, I would like to ask that you bring with you a laptop and electronic and hard copies of a few lesson plans. This will be useful during our working sessions.

Below you will find a draft agenda and directions to Macon State College. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me or Amanda Griffin in the Executive Office.

We look forward to seeing you next week!

AGENDA 

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009

8:00 – 10:00 AM – Committee Meetings

• HRRB Steering Committee
• Grants Committee

9:30 AM – Registration Opens
10:00 AM – Summer Institute Begins

• Opening Remarks – Lynn Strickland, Susan Grigsby, Cindy Thompson
• Ice Breaker – “Quick Fire Challenge”
• Goals of Summer Institute and History of GPS/Info Lit – Susan Grigsby

11:00 AM – Lesson Plan Builder – Mary Parrish
12:00 PM – Lunch
12:30 PM – Reading Literacy and GPS – Diane Gomes
1:00 PM – Add a Dash of Fun to your Media Center Classroom – Tommy Johns
2:00 PM – Work Sessions
3:00 PM – Break
3:15 PM – Group Report
4:00 PM – Adjourn
4:00 PM – Board Meeting

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2009

9:00 AM – Using Data to Design Curriculum – Cindy Thompson
9:30 AM – Pulling it Together with GPS – Pam Smith
10:00 AM – GALILEO Presentation – Karen Minton
11:00 AM – “Quick Fire Challenge” – Using GALILEO
12:00 PM – Lunch
1:00 PM – Web 2.0 Presentation - Buffy Hamilton
2:00 PM – “Quick Fire Challenge” – Using Web 2.0

• Work Session
• Presentation of Work and Framework for Continuing the Process
• Closing Remarks – Judy Serretilla

4:00 PM – Adjourn

Directions – The GLMA Summer Institute will be held at Macon State College in the Learning Support Building Auditorium. To get to the Learning Support Building, enter at the main entrance to Macon State, turn left, and continue on around to the rear parking lots. You will see the Technology and Conference Center building (the last one) and next to it is the building where we will meet in the auditorium on the first floor.

Parking – Parking is available anywhere in the lots except for the faculty section. There is no need for a parking pass.