The Daring Librarian

Let's Get Animated! Jodie & Phyl my hosts from Australia (background story below!) asked me to write a short article on a tech topic to distribute to schools in Australia and New Zealand. So, you know I HAD to highlight 20+ of my favourite Super Avatar Generators & Creators! The piece has been made into a promo flier & a full article - PLUS... you know you can get all the links & graphics from the Companion & Updated Avatar wikipage!  (Click below) You can view the flier embedded below or download it from Slideshare It's a Cartoon, It's An Avatar, It's a New Animated YOU! from gwyneth jones Download the article directly from the SybaSigns server or Slideshare (embedded below) It's a Cartoon! It's an Avatar - Full Article from gwyneth jones Your Head - In a Jar! Hope you enjoy it! If you have visited that wikikpage before, I've recently updated it adding the latest, coolest APP....the Futurama Head in Jar gener...

(Click above for larger image ) iGoogle Gone, Baby Gone So, thanks to my amazing mentor @JoyceValenza & Google+ I recently heard the upsetting breaking news that Google is doing away with iGoogle! " iGoogle will be retired in 16 months, on November 1, 2013. The mobile version will be retired on July 31, 2012. " What the What!? Now... to be honest I only use iGoogle at school as my start up page & to bypass my district filter for Twitter using the totally awesome TwitterGadget ! (more about that below!) Shh! Don't tell. But let's talk about what's really important...what about my pet digital Hamster !?? Whew! Thank goodness Adam Bowman, the designer, assures us that the hamster will live on by giving us the modifiable embed code for this engaging widget ! Hint: look for the tiny blue link Edit Settings - make those mods then copy & paste the embed code! (Click on Aloysius the hamster to wake up & feed!) (My original iGoogle Page - Click above...

Hi! My name is Gwyneth and I'm NOT much of a gamer. Oh, it feels kinda good to admit that! I mean, as much of a geek grrl as I've always been I know I *should* be a gamer but alas, epic fail. Not many games have held my attention for too long. Sure, like everyone else I played & aced Angry Birds as soon it came out but I was more of a fan of the plush birdies than getting 3 stars on every level. I grew bored fast. Though I did see the possibility for teaching math, science, and other subjects with the game using Chrome Apps . I PWNED Plants Vs. Zombies! The other game I was drawn to was Plants vs. Zombies, which I will shamelessly brag I am an expert in beating! ( PLANTS Vs. ZOMBIES Game Tips at end of this post! ) Imagine my surprise when I saw this.... Cyberbully Zombies Attack! The popularity of PvsZ was not lost on the the people of Net Smartz Teens (sponsored by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) Cyberbully zombies are attacking...

One of my fav members of my PLN on Twitter is Josh Stumpenhorst - this morning he posted this Tweet about an article on Social Media Today titled QR codes – Don’t Believe the Hype which got my blood boiling because it's flawed logic - especially for educators! Josh Stumpenhorst ‏ @ stumpteacher QR codes – don’t believe the hype http://zite.to/LVIjYc interesting Which, of course, leads to great Tweets & discussions. So I decided to write a blog post refuting their assertions because when it comes to QR Codes you know I'm a fangrrl! If you search my blog with "QR Codes" you'll see I've blogged a LOT about them over the years, what they are , connecting with parents and the community , and lessons utilizing them in the classroom & library ! Josh Stumpenhorst ‏ @ stumpteacher @ gwynethjones @ MsMensing Ha, I love when a blog post gets p...

I don't usually get too philosophical on this blog, keeping more with the "how to" or "try this!" nor do I usually wax rhapsodic. But this is the time of year where I must. I love my career! I love my teaching, my practice, my profession, my students, my families, and my community! I can't imagine doing anything else that feeds my soul like teaching! I love the seasons and the time and tide of it. The great thing about summers off (other than it's made of awesome) is the ability to step back and reflect about the past school year. And for those of you who are rolling your eyes at my flippin Pollyanna positive attitude [grins] I know, right? Maybe you really need to read this now !  So here are my 5 R's to help with that reflective journey. 1. Relax Before you can truly reflect you gotta relax. And it doesn't have to be a week at the beach (but that helps!) but it should be a seeking of solace. Mindfulness. Quieting your thoughts, read ...