End of the year idea

We’ve all heard the praises of Animoto, but I hadn’t had a chance to really play with it until recently. I decided to create a highlight reel for what’s been happening in our media center this year so I could really get a feel for its pros and cons; additionally, I produced something that showed off what we’ve been doing! Rather than a standard report, this one (I hope) is entertaining and informative.

Here’s this newbie’s take on the pros/cons:

Pros: Looks AWESOME, very easy, quick, easy to share and download, free accounts for teachers and their students.

Cons: Music has to be the right length or pictures get cut out, can’t add more than one song, very limited text space, took a week or so to get the educator code to set up my account.

Here’s a link to our highlight video if you are interested.

Have a good weekend!

~Holly Frilot, Library Media Specialist

Collins Hill High School

ARRA Competitive Grants

The Georgia ETCs have been working hard on the FY10 Title II, Part D ARRA Competitive Grants. These grants have recently been released and schools are in the process of writing their applications. Of particular interest to Georgia’s media specialists is the Increasing Student Literacy grant. This grant will concentrate on investigating best practices for student use of technology and the Lexile Framework to meet core reading, writing, and digital literacy standards, and the media specialist of awarded schools will be a core member of the grant team. The Increasing Student Literacy grant is also of interest with the coming of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science. The focus of these standards is to ensure that all students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school. Georgia’s Performance Standards are already serving to build a rigorous foundation for the CCSS.
For assistance with the Increasing Student Literacy grant or one of the other three ARRA Competitive Grants, please contact your local ETC.

Emily Hodge
Instructional Technology
University of Georgia Educational Technology Center

Techie Tip: To avoid a hard return when typing in a WYSIWYG HTML editor, press “shift” at the same time as “enter.” Works great in bulleted lists too!

Dangerous Statements for Librarians to Make

As usual, Doug Johnson has created a very thought-provoking post on this topic on his Blue Skunk Blog. The comments that follow Doug’s post are excellent too. I’ll share a couple with you here but please read the whole post and thread!

11. Wikipedia/blogs/Twitter/etc. is not an acceptable source of information.

12. If only the principal/teachers/parents knew what I do they’d appreciate me!

Jim Randolph added to Doug’s list with this statement:

“You can’t check that out–it’s not on your reading level.”

I believe that what we DO is what matters but sometimes it’s easy to forget that what we SAY has a huge impact on how others perceive us.

Judi Repman

Georgia Southern University

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Need Rainy Day Activities for Students this Summer? GALILEO Can Help!

Of course, we know students will be enjoying the outdoors for most summer days, but what about those rainy days when they’re stuck inside and parents want ideas for activities? GALILEO resources offer quite a few fun educational activities for students looking for something to do.

(Please remember that the GALILEO password for your school will be changing on May 17, so students will need the new password to access GALILEO over the summer. )

**Elementary Students**
Britannica Learning Zone (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zelz)
PreK- 2nd grade students can find videos from around the world and reading and drawing activities.

Britannica Elementary (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zebk)
Watch videos, investigate animals, and read about famous people. Find games and fun activities in the Learning Materials.

SIRS Discoverer (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zssd)
Click Activities on the right of the screen to find art and science projects, games, puzzles, and more.

Book Collection: Nonfiction (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbnf)
Read about famous people, pets, pirates, dinosaurs, and more.

Magazines A-Z (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?path=/magazines/&view=high-school)
Parents can help students find magazines with activities, stories, and other items, such as Highlights for Children, Humpty Dumpty’s Magazine, Jack & Jill, National Geographic Kids, Ranger Rick, Spider, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and Time for Kids.

NoveList K-8 (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zkne)
For the kids that love to read, parents can find Grab and Go Book Lists to help their children pick out books during the next trip to the public library.

**Middle School Students**
Compton’s by Britannica (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zebm)
Investigate important people and big events, keep up with the news, and watch videos. Find interesting science activities in Learning Materials.

SIRS Discoverer (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zssd)
Click Activities on the right of the screen to find art and science projects, games, puzzles, and more.

Book Collection: Nonfiction (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbnf)
Read about celebrities, cars, sports, hobbies, and more.

Magazines A-Z (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?path=/magazines/&view=high-school)
Find magazines in GALILEO, such as Boys’ Life, Calliope, Cobblestone, Girls’ Life, and Stone Soup.

NoveList K-8 (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zkne)
Find more books like a favorite that’s already been read. Just search for a favorite book, click the title to see the book information, and then click Find Similar Books. Take the list on the next trip to the public library.

**High School Students**
Encyclopaedia Britannica High School (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zehs)
Read biographies and learn about historical events, keep up with the news, read the Britannica Blog, and watch videos. Find interesting science activities in Learning Materials.

SIRS Issues Researcher (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zsks)
Keep up with news and controversial issues.

Book Collection: Nonfiction (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbnf)
Read about celebrities, cars, sports, hobbies, and more.

Magazines A-Z (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?path=/magazines/&view=high-school)
GALILEO includes several magazines for teens, including American Cheerleader, BMX Plus, Dance Spirit, Discover, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Teen People, and Transworld Skateboarding.

NoveList (http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zknl)
Find more books like a favorite that’s already been read. Just search for a favorite book, click the title to see the book information, and then click Find Similar Books. Take the list on the next trip to the public library.

As always,  if you have questions or comments, please Contact Us!

Courtney McGough
GALILEO Support Services

Image: from Encyclopaedia Britannica