Google+ Hangouts: Cool Conversations and BookTalks Without Borders

This is a story about Sister Libraries, Twitter, Google+ Hangout, and connecting kids! It all started with a Tweet by my dear friend & Tweep  Tiffany Whitehead aka The Mighty Little Librarian and her awesome BFF EL teacher Alaina Laperouse both of Central Middle School in Baton Rouge Louisiana! She had been inspired by a Tweet she had seen about sister classrooms started between @heisereads and @brianwyzlic - you know, like sister cities? She said she wanted a sister library & I was like I'm willing!! After a few Tweets back and forth a bit to establish time zones (because I'm an idiot when it comes to time zones!) we finally got our kiddos to meet and chat using Google+ Hangout! I've connected with classrooms before using Google Hangout before & blogged about it - but this was different, this was establishing a steady partnership!

Our first chat happened in Kristin Cullison's classroom with her 6th grade research seminar class (and my media helpers!). Tiff's kids didn't know where we were from so they asked my kids questions to discover our location - after a few clues (including steamed crabs and the Chesapeake Bay!) her kiddos correctly guessed Maryland! I shared that one of our favourite books was Weird Maryland and her kids said that they loved the book  Weird Louisiana! It was a super fun moment of a shared love of urban legends where the kids each held up the respective books to show each other live & It was a magic moment! To celebrate this, the next day I sent them the Maryland book! LOVE Amazon Prime! (See pic below from Tiff)  My kids were so impressed with the lovely behaviour & charming Louisiana accents of the CMS kiddos & were urging to connect again!

Our latest chat happened in our respective school libraries with the kiddos trading prepared book talks! Great for summer reading!

To extend this relationship for next year I'm thinking of having our kiddos both join United Classrooms where they can chat back & forth and have moderated discussions. Maybe share those urban legend stories and collaboratively create an urban legend wiki or group on Edmodo, or perhaps start a semi-virtual book club!  A cool idea I haven't tried yet is we could create a chat room for the event with Today's Meet  and using a second laptop or computer joining in the Hangout - sharing screen, you can have a moderated chat going on at the same time!

Google Hangout TIPS:
• Practice beforehand!
• Make sure your plugins & browsers are updated & use Chrome!
• Sign in early
• Consider recording via YouTube it to embed or view later
• I added clip-on TV Studio lights nearby to improve the camera shot
• Have kids talking sit close to the laptop for better sound quality
• Practice with your kiddos speaking slowly & loudly - consider recording with a flip camera & previewing their performance

You can see ALL the pictures I took of this growing relationship on my Flickr slideshow below or skip directly to our gallery! 

If you're interested in trying this out there is a Google+ Community for connecting Google classroom Hangouts! You can also check out the website Google Education OnAir to join in scheduled LIVE Google Hangouts, connect with other interested educators or get tech help to get started!  The Twitter hashtag #eduonair  connects educators with other classrooms creating conversations & relationships.

Tiff was moderating our conversation with her official Harry Potter wand!  Oh! Tiff & I are both ardent  Harry Potter fans, so I have to share this amazing video below of Tiff - the Mighty Little Librarian getting her own wand! It's magical if you're an HP fan! My eyes got a little leaky about halfway through! [snif!]




Resources:
32 Tips for Using Google Hangout in the Classroom
EducationOnAir - Google Sites
Google Hangouts as Edtech: Connecting, Sharing and ... - Edutopia

Credits:
Mustache pic by Tiffany Whitehead
Gwyneth & Alaina pic by Alaina Laperouse

Médecins Sans Frontières

My title for this post was inspired by one of my most favoured charitable organizations Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières  - Please consider donating to this worthy cause! 

Darling Slideshare, We're Stacking the Decks!

@Slideshare, my favourite presentation & file sharing site, is celebrating 10 Million Presentations Uploaded to SlideShare by creating the infographic  below -- and astoundingly, the featured me! (I know, crazy right!?) So...of course I have to share it with you! (and my Mom! LOL)  Also featured on the infographic is the presentation that changed my graphical & preso life and is one of the most viral slidedecks on earth... You Suck at Powerpoint! by the amazing, inspiring, & social media guru JesseDee!  (View the Large Size)

10 Million Uploads: Our Favorites from SlideShare

Funny thing is, they were kind enough and I was honored, flattered, and chuffed that they featured me

but they got my brand name wrong.  They labeled me the "Darling Librarian" instead of the "Daring Librarian" I mean, I *can* be darling if given the chance & with my friends and loved ones!
Here's my comment from their blog:

"OhMyWordSlideshare! I am so honored you included me on this infographic! Whether I’m a Darling or Daring Librarian -  I’m dead flattered to be featured! But of course, it does make me worry I haven’t worked hard enough on my branding if ya'll  got it wrong! LOL
Srsly, terribly chuffed is me! SQUEE!"
I finally uploaded the preso I blogged about and updated from the amazing experience I had being a featured speaker at MACUL in Detroit! Two different versions:

Secrets Of The Remix Mashup YouTube Generation - Video Version from gwyneth jones

The above deck is the presentation with all the YouTube videos embedded (thanks Slideshare!) for those of you who are viewing without a firewall and have really fast bandwidth.  But for my dear friends who are still fighting the Locked Net Monster, I also uploaded a version without any videos embedded for viewing for easier viewing behind the walls of fire.

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

I have to also include the MentorMob Playlist that goes with this preso! Basically, I learned how to make a playlist by creating this one! That's the way I learn - learn by doing. How do you learn best?

Follow JesseDee on Twitter and on Slideshare

And about the Daring Darling thing -- Really it's much better than my super pet peeve of spelling my real name wrong like [shudders] gwenyth, gwendolyn, or some other non-awesome version that's not mine, right!?

QR Code Loo Reviews & Pocket Videos

Promote Reading With QR Code 
Loo Reviews & Pocket Videos! 

Here's a fun idea! Combine QR Codes that link to video book trailers on a laminated sign taped to the back of a bathroom stall door that says "Do NOT Scan These!" and you should get the kids streaming into the high school library to check out books!  Let's face it, kids sneak their smart phones into the bathroom to check their text messages why not take advantage of that & get them into the school library! Even better if you have the time & ability to let the kiddos create their OWN trailers & post them to SchoolTube! Don't forget the teachers! Create signs with the hottest YA books for the teachers bathrooms, too!

Now...my principal gently put the kibosh on this brilliant idea for our middle school bathrooms, and totally I see his point. Whether I like it or not, we're not BYOD yet, and our school district policy says middle schoolers must keep their cell phones in their lockers except when entering & exiting the school

(and except for our digital discoveries in the library!) and I can just imagine sending that kind of mixed message with a Loo Review would anger the teachers!  So for this situation, I deftly changed it to Pocket Video & my principal suggested I post them by the library doors, the front doors, in the hallways, and in the student services office.  So, I guess the Loo Review concept would be good for High Schools or Middle Schools that allow phones, and Pocket Videos for everybody else!  Test this idea first by scanning the above left code!

The Lowdown on How To in 4 Easy Steps!

1. Pop Up Video! Find your desired book trailer. I tried to find a video that would appeal to my gals and for my guys. If you find a great video on YouTube and YouTube is blocked in your school look on SchoolTube. I particularly like the The Book Brat & TeenLitCentral YouTube channel and the Westlake HighSchool SchoolTube videos. I also downloaded publisher created book trailers & uploaded them to School Tube using KeepVid.com - check out my full size Comic Tutorial HowTo! Also, if you go this route always give full attribution, contact the poster,  and link back to the original YouTube video.

2. Sneaky Trick Grab the right SchoolTube video URL to create your QR code. If you just grab the one that's in the URL bar or in the Share direct link your QR code will go to the channel page & the video will be small. BUT...if you do the following sneaky trick you will get the full screen video!

Click SHARE to reveal the embed code. This is the code you use if you want to post the video on your blog or your wiki. But...hidden inside the embed code is the full screen URL. Again, IGNORE the short url!  I paste the whole code in an email compose screen, then cut out just embed url.

3. Code Me
Now, with that URL in your computer memory, go to QR Code Monkey and create your QR code!  The cool thing with QR Code Monkey is that you can add a square graphic to the middle of your code. So, I made the graphics for this project using another fav monkey, PicMonkey!  LOVE them!

4. Sweet Signage
Next, use this graphic in a MS Word document that says, Don't Scan This! (I'm oppositional defiant, that works with me every time!) laminae & post around your school! I also included directions on how to download my favourite i-nigma QR code reader and for the Loo Reivews I included a funny Horrible Histories Rotten Roman potty centric video on my poster just for immature scatalogical laughs & fun trivia! Another tip, for the Loo Reviews, I put the words: Guys & Gals on the top of the posters so I wouldn't have to scan it to make sure that I got the right book trailer in the right john!

Then, as shown on left, I made popout captions with ComicLife that I can print out on NEON paper, cut out & paste at the corner advertising that this book & others are available at the library, visit today (with a pass! ;-P)  Check out my posters on Slideshare!  Also feel free to check out the Loo Review Flickr gallery also has all the graphics & at larger sizes! As always, Take, Use, Share!

I'd LOVE to hear in the comments on Twitter what you're doing with QR codes, book trailers, book promotions, and more!

---
Links, Credits, Resources, & SNARK!

Thanks to my new favourite new resources Scoop.it! and the great scoops from Jamie Forshey aka @Edutech20 I found out about the QR Code generator called QR Code Monkey!

Great idea from one of my fav Tweeps! 

Mary Clark ‏@SEMSLibraryLady 5h

@gwynethjones I'm doing this on the walls in the staff loos. I wonder how many have QR readers?

Who Needs a Librarian When You Have Google?

This just popped out of my mouth when I was doing the question & answer portion of my keynote last week at the AISL Baltimore conference. And I like it! What do you think?

Librarians are the Key 
to Information Mastery!

There's a lot of talk out there that it's the end of librarianship because of Google and the Interwebs.  I know other states getting rid of their school librarians - but I gotta say Nay, Nay! Let us not give up the good fight!

things are seemingly dire and bleak for our profession, what with California &

Now, is when the world needs librarians the most! With SO much information out there who else better than a librarian to decode it, curate it, interpret it, organize it, authenticate it, and integrate it?

Who else but the librarian is going to teach attribution and Creative Commons? Who else but the librarian is going to be able to filter through millions of research results, then curate and create a playlist of amazing resources in just a few minutes for the eager student? We are vital and we are valuable! Now let's go out there, steup up our game, and & spread the word!
[drops microphone & steps off soap box -- for the nonce]

Oh and the main graphic above I created with PicMonkey using a lovely background by Valeriana Solaris and is Creative Commons (of course!) Take, Use, Share! 

The AISL Baltimore conference kicked off on the beautiful campus of the St. Paul's School in Brooklandville MD.  I was honored to be presenting with my sister from another mister, the Digital Diva herself -Joquetta Johnson ‏@accordin2jo with our entourage & manager extraordinaire Angenine Goode.  I gave my updated 10 Ways a Librarian Can be a Marketing Genius Like Lady Gaga preso which meshed very well with Joquetta's Passion for the Profession preso.
Good times!

 AISLBalt2013 on PhotoPeach

  

Thanks to everyone who made my Baltimore tour of education conferences AWESOME! At the MSET & Common Ground conference at the Baltimore Convention Center #CGMD13 where we were trending #2 on Twitter I got to re-connect with my Maryland peeps & tweeps!

  LOVING the super fun, informative, & connecting Digital Sandbox we ran as a team where we had deep conversations, PLN building and a Learning Tools Smackdown (though sadly greatly hindered by the craptastic wireless at the conference - don't get me started on THAT!), 

the WINNING presentation Matthew C. Winner & Rebecca Oxley gave on Gaming,  & of course the Tweetup! 

I'm also supporting my dear friend Selena Ward ‏@thetechtiger for MSET President, if you're a member of MSET please vote!

(AWESOME graphic by Matthew Winner!)  

Librarians: What do you think we should focus on to preserve our professions?
What was your best conference experience?
Your comments are always welcome & eagerly received!

---

Resources:
Libraries of the Future
A Nation Without School Libraries - the Map
A Nation Without School Libraries -The Bob Edwards Show

Big Rich Mt. Olympus: Legendary Drama!

The Task:
"You've moved to the upscale neighborhood of Mt. Olympus, rubbing elbows with the big shots, the wealthy, the divine - yes the Greek Gods. To fit in you better know who your neighbors are! This playlist will help you find out all about their habits, attitudes, and yes...their powers!"

During testing season we have a challenge to support student research with limited access to our computer labs and mobile labs. So, teaming with my 7th grade English teachers, we've re-worked our usual Greek Mythology research unit & adding a Reality TV hook for engagement. (Confession: 2 of my 3 seventh grade English teachers & I are also all huge Bravo fans & and our shared guilty pleasure is the Real Housewives franchise) Since we didn't want to do "Real Housewives of Mt. Olympus" for fear that our guy students would be turned off by that, we thought Big Rich would do the trick! PS. This lesson also would work for our good friends in the Social Studies Department! (Hellooo NCSS!)
Horrible Histories: a Video Engagement Hook!
Let's also combine the fun of the BBC Horrible Histories & Rotten Romans to inspire the kiddos and start them to see the gods & goddesses with individual personalities!

Challenge: Limited Technology, Time, & Maximize Engagement
A simple shared library book cart loaded with World Book Encyclopedias, pulled mythology books, a MentorMob playlist (embedded below),  a Wikipspaces page, and a few MacBooks can  = meaningful mythology research!
A MentorMob playlist helps students focus their research without being distracted (hopefully!) by unrelated links. The playlist includes curated and vetted web pages that are specific to the task at hand and guide them through the steps completing the research phase of the project. A MentorMob Playlist is also perfect if you want to FLIP the Classroom & have students go through the steps at home! (But please, being mindful of our digital divide - always provide classroom time for those students who might have no access to the Interwebs at home)
Students will be choosing their god or goddess through a random drawing (they will have 30 seconds to switch & trade) then they will research their divine being!
Check out our:
Big Rich Mt. Olympus: A Legendary Playlist

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

 

Mt. Olympus Problems - Brainstorm!

Before they start the project and after they've had time to do some research their god or goddess - have a Mt. Olympus Problems - Brainstorming session with your kiddos about what they could be! (see & feel free to use my included graphics for inspiration)


The Big Rich Mt. Olympus Product
We will be giving studetnts a variety of projects to choose from including a Fakebook Page, a Wanted Sign, a PSA, and a Weebly web page. 

A Fakebook page is a project that combines social media engagement with creativity but can be low tech in execution.  Whether the kids choose the PPT template by Nick Provenzano - The Nerdy Teacher or the updated one Facebook Template from Lindsay Cesari’s blog, No Shhing Here (downloadable on my Wikispaces page), the Google Docs Preso version by Meghen Ehrich (Go to FILE > Make a Copy for yourself!)  or the online version, or my adapted & transformed downloadable "old skool" pencil & paper version. Whichever mode you decide, each encourages students to think of the gods & goddesses as real people with, personalities, character traits, flaws, habits, attitudes, and abilities and combines them with the engagement of social media.  

Make is Social! 

Let kids randomly or in small groups "be" their divine being & write on other peoples walls AS their god or goddess. (Make sure they initial content for attribution & ownership) Have them trade "papers" or walls to make blog comments, join groups, draw pictures, etc. Do a gallery walk at the culminating class to "grade" with post it notes or score pads giving out points for those whose additions were the most creative, fun, amusing, & accurate. Talk about which god or goddess would you rather be friends with,  (or enemies!) and why!

Wikispaces Research Page

Also feel free to check out my Mythology Research Wikispaces page! Copy the whole page if you like including the graphics (remove captions)  - Take, Use, Share - just please make sure to give attribution.

What other products do you use with your kids researching Mythology and Gods & Goddesses? 

When technology is limited, how do you transform high tech options into low tech products?

As always, your comments are invited, appreciated, & celebrated! YAY! 

---

Resources:

Horrible Histories & Rotten Romans Videos on SchoolTube

Jerry Blumengarten ‏@cybraryman1 I added Big Rich Mt. Olympus: Legendary Drama! to My Myths page: http://cybraryman.com/myths.html 

Weebly Help:
Weebly TutorialHow To Upload Files

How to Create Links
How to make a website using //weebly/
Mrs. Cullison's Mythology Weebly pages examples

BONUS! 

We were mentioned! NCSS Smart Brief: How to conduct a research project with limited computer time   Super thanks for that kind shout out from our NCSS & Social Studies friends!

10 Tips for Digital Photo Editing & Fun

It's been about 3 years since I've blogged about FREE digital image editing & fun sites... So I thought I would update it! Thanks to my dear friend @Linda Dougherty ‏who Tweeted & Scooped to me about Ribbet which made me give it close look comparing it to my beloved PicMonkey.  I thought I owed you, my dear readers,  an unbiased review of these fab photo editing sites. Last time I talked about 5 of them - this year I'm giving you 10! (Plus a link to my Sqworl gallery with 66+ links)

1. What makes PicMonkey Made of Win? Features Galore!

PicMonkey, is MADE of WIN! This beloved site with happy hipster styling beautifully filled in when Picknik went away. [pours some Diet Coke out for my fallen homey] Really, for 94% of what you need to do with images this site can do & WAY easier than Photoshop. I even thought of making a Comic Tutorial for it - but it really is SO easy and intuitive I don't think you need one!
PicMonkey is a creation of several former Picnik engineers and "offers a simple and easy to use tool for editing and altering your images. Even if Picnik was still around, PicMonkey would be a great alternative!
The entirely Web-based editor is fast and effective, and among the cleanest interface (PicMonkey and Ribbet will be fighting Smackdown style for that title) for a photo editor (Web or desktop) that I've come across."
Easy to use PicMonkey has amazing FREE features that if you don't want to spend the $ on Photoshop this should make you very happy. Easy text layering, cut-outs, arrows, speech bubbles, frames, & easy crop & resize means anyone can make their pics for blogs, wikis, & sites beautiful and easy breezy!
Worth the Royale treatment, for a few dollars a month (the price of a latte) those extra perks make this digital image manipulation site a winner. Remember, no awesome Ad-Free site will remain 100% FREE forever.
SUPER COOL UPDATE! Flickr & Tumbler Integration!
One of the things that first impressed me so much w/ PicMonkey was how responsive they are on Twitter. They care, they listen, & they respond! Follow them!  PicMonkey ‏@PicMonkeyApp

2. Ribbet: Advanced Editing, Your Fonts, & Flickr Integration

Ribbet is "built on the same platform that made Google's Picnik great and is an easy to use yet powerful online photo editor. You can use Ribbet for collages, touch-ups and advanced photographic effects like curves and clone tools, fonts, frames, stickers, vampire effects, beards, and an entire pond full (yes, get ready to deal with some froggy puns) of effects. Like Picnik, there will be a free and a premium version."  But try it out NOW when ALL the features are FREE, at least as of (3/13)
How is Ribbet different than PicMonkey? 

So far, you can start with a blank canvas, use your own machine fonts (click ALLOW when asked) & connect to your Flickr account. The site will ask & you will need to give permission to take from and save to Flickr.  
Create Transparent PNG's!
You can also go into Advanced editing with Pixlr so you can use the magic erase wand & eraser to remove a background - save it as a transparent .PNG (never .JPG) this way you can superimpose one photo over another like I did with the Ribbet frog on a branch over a black background in my example.  Ribbet also saves your photos during your latest session in a "tray" where you can go back to them. That's pretty neat.  AND yes, Ribbet is also very communicative, responsive, & friendly on Twitter! Follow them @ribbetapp

 

3. Picadilo: Super Touch Ups & Totally Free

Picadilo is a totally free online photo editor that's easy to use.
Pros: Slick interface, nice features, text overlays make this a standout. I especially like the Miniaturize photo effect example on right.
Cons: I did notice a few hiccups with the ladybug spinning as I tried to upload a pic to edit.
With Picadilo you can "enhance your photos using effects, versatile editing tools and a wide range of textures. Some of the best features are the photo mosaic and the ability to use multiple windows - commonly available in only much more expensive photo editors."
Cool Features From the site:  Multiple windows "Don't be restricted to working on just one photograph at a time. Let your creativity run free by loading more than one photo and work on them side by side. You can also select and copy regions from one photograph to another creating new interesting effects."

4. Photocat: Cute Kitty - Limited Features - Take a Pass!
Photocat was "launched in late 2012 as another entrant in the crowded field on online Photo Editors. Since Google closed down the Picnik service in early 2012 we have seen an array of new services like Ribbet, Picmonkey and now Photocat."
Pros: Photocat offers the standard array of basic photo editing features - with the addition of an excellent collage option. Between the collage, some nice holiday features and some advanced handling of large images.
Cons: Better like the layer you're editing because once you navigate off it - there's no going back. Unlike all the other editors mentioned you can't re-edit or reposition text once you navigate away from the Text editing page.
This is a BIG Kitty Litter Smelly DRAWBACK!  Sample of the Dashboard is below.
Another HUGE Con -- You can't place text on different lines -- they all go in one straight line (no return) AND there are only a handful of fonts to choose from. Boo Hiss!

And Now Just For Fun!

Sites that don't edit - but they are blingtastically, hugely, glittery fun to play with!

5. Big Huge Labs = Big Huge Fun!

Big Huge Labs is a wonderful site where you can make motivational posters, movie posters, magazine covers, badges, mosaics, collages, calendars, frames, and a lot more. BigHugeLabs has established itself as one of the biggest destination websites of its kind. Follow BigHugeLabs on Twitter
6. Deefunia: You Don't Have to be a Professional to Have FUN!

Deefunia is an "online image editing tool that gives users a fun filled experience. Users can upload any photos and just wait to see the wonder it does. Any photo can be placed in unique photo layouts" - both fun, fab, & a bit doofy.
Pop culturally hip, with plenty of Pan-Asian kitsch,  you can put yourself (or your pics) on subway cars, city billboards, magazine covers or in art galleries as shown below! 
You can also make multiple photo collages using the templates. Save your creations to your hard drive or share them via social media.
7. Says-It - Church Signs & More! 
Says-It Features Customizable: Church Sign, Official Seal,  Concert Ticket,  Uncle Sam Poster, old skool Videotape,  Cassette, & Vinyl Records,  Safety Signs and Soft Drinks Cans 
8. Glitterfy is Just Blingtastic!
Glitterfy will customize your pictures with the Glitterfy Glitter Graphics maker, Create words with Glitter Text for profile comments, Photo Flipbooks for Orkut Scraps
---glitterfy
 
[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

9. Photofunia Style Photo Editors
Photofunia offers high quality photo editing for free. See examples and comparisons to Deefunia, Photo505, Pixiz, Jpgfun, Photomontager and more free photo editing sites. With each service you upload a picture and the picture can be retouched, modified using an easy to navigate interface. Check out the Photofunia Blog for the latest templates!
10. Easy Breezy Cut My Pic
Cut My Pic: Just what it sounds like, this is a way you can fast upload any pic & cut it - adding cool corners and shapes and save to your HD.

 Scoop.it, Baby!
Check out my Font Lust & Other Graphic Desires Scoop.it! Topic where I will try & curate super cool sites that provide digital imaging resources & the latest font news! If you haven't checked it out - I've also blogged about it!

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

My MentorMob Obsession Grows!
Experience this blog posting as a @MentorMob (follow them on Twitter, they super rock!) Curated & interactive playlist!  With How-To Videos!
Resource

66+ Digital Photo Fun Sites - My Sqworl Gallery 

Larry Ferlazzo's The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects

After Google pulls the plug, vultures flock around Picnik

I was also very inspired by the Squidoo lenses created  by dagsmith & quoted him liberally cause he's smart! 

Disclaimer! 
I will NEVER EVER blog about a site because they suck up to me or ask me to. I only blog about sites, resources, books, etc. because I like or love them or find them worthy of my readers attention. I may be a snarky smart @$$ but I can NOT be bought. No emails please requesting me to blog about you - unless I get 5 bags of Tropical Skittles & an XL Hoodie --- kidding!