The Daring Librarian

I've been blogging about my favourite Social Media outlet Twitter for over five years now. From Twitter: The Art of the Follow , header and background design tips with Are You Ready for a New Twitter? to What's YOUR Twitter Formula? I figured it was time to try and put a lot of these tips into one package. This is a new presentation that I'm still fine-tuning, but I thought I would share it to get some feedback. Below are a few slides to give you a taste, as well as the full embedded Slideshare . Your suggestions are very welcome - but please remember a lot of these tips are just my opinion or rather, enjoy this disclaimer ...       Here's the full presentation - Enjoy!  Tweet Like a Ninja from The Daring Librarian Experience I know it's a LOT of slides but I swear it all fits into a one hour presentation, really! But it's not as fun without me presenting it LIVE! You gotta belie...

Hello Alexa!  Back in November Amazon announced that it was taking pre-orders for the new Echo - by invitation only. Intrigued, ever geeky, & with a big discount offered as a Prime member - I jumped on it with my own money! (Just in case it was a flop!) It took months of waiting but finally, just a few weeks ago it came and we now have a new information tool in the library!  It's the Amazon Echo! Have you heard of it? The original commercial can't be found anywhere...the goofy family with the mom who had the best facial expressions. There are NSFW language parodies, but not the original one. Womp Womp. UPDATE! No Invitation Needed Now ! In stock July 14th Since I'm not going to have an assistant full time next year, (don't get me started!) I thought this could be a cool way to answer basic questions. Kids are delighted to discover Alexa, living in the Amazon Echo. Not only is it a fun way for kiddos to learn how to ask the right questions, to speak ...

The hot new Makerspace Movement is NOT new to Murray Hill Middle School. Eighteen years ago we designed and opened the school with the idea that we would have creation labs in the Media Center, GT room, and the TV studio. We started with video production, iMovie, Specular LogoMotion , Hyperstudio, and animation with Hollyood High kids. Here's an example of an EARLY (2003) video production called Bookfellas, featuring some Guy Ritchie-esque film direction techniques . These kids are now all grown up and we've kept evolving, too! --------We interrupt this blog post for an important announcement-------- -------------------- As of August 2018 the--------------------   Makerspace Starter Kit Has Been Updated We return you back now to our first and original Makerspace post ......Thank you! It's OK to Start Small! We recently expanded upon our Makerspace offerings thanks to being inspired by several of my librarian friends in our amazing...

I was really excited to work with two great ELA cooperating (student) teachers who are from my alma mater, Towson University. Shout out to Jessica Robertson & Debora Chun ! An additional shout out their kind professor who actually had my blog on her "to read & review" list! So, they came to this school already familiar with my blog, how crazy is that? W00t! So, when they expressed a desire for us to work together before they left my school it was trixy finding 2-4 days between PARCC testing and MAP testing to fit them in, but we did!  As I mentioned in my last pos t I first wanted to do a Mystery Skype with an educator in the Dominican Republic because my 7th grade kiddos had just finished reading Before We Were Free . Sadly, after reaching out to, and never hearing back, from all of Mystery Skype educators in the Dominican Republic (Ok, there were only 4!) we had to move on to plan B! or should I say Plan V for Vine!  We tasked the kids to create a persuasive...

I am SO excited about the potential of this new technology from Skype and err [cough] Microsoft. But us Mac people... I guess we'll have to wait a little longer. From Richard Byrne's awesome blog : "Microsoft has made Translator Preview open to anyone who is using Windows 8.1 or a preview edition of Windows 10. Click here to visit the download page for Translator Preview." Here's an example of it in action! OMGosh! I can't wait to try this with my kiddos! I gotta confess, my eyes get suspiciously damp every time I watch this & the look at wonder and astonishment on the faces of the kids! EEP! (Don't judge me! LOL) I joined Mystery Skype & Classroom hoping to connect with a classroom in the Dominican Republic. I was inspired SO much after watching that video above, I thought my 7th grade kiddos who had just finished reading Before We Were Free would get a super kick talking to a classroom in the country where it was set (and in the same...

Education Trends-A-Go-Go It's SO easy to get overwhelmed with all the new education tech and trends going on in the world. 1:1 Flipping Future Ready Makerspace Genius Hour Common Core Mobile Learning Design Thinking Google Classroom Brain Based Learning Project Based Learning Learning Management Systems Transformative Brain Based Learning Spaces Sheesh....I could go on! It's EXHAUSTING! Ed Tech Relationship Anxiety Then....there's all the new technology that you have to get, use, and master! Don't have an unlimited budget or a super generous PTA? OK, now you have to get funding from a place like Donor's Choose . (Which is totally, doable! But does take a wee bit of effort) Once it was Smart Boards now it's Tablets and 3D printers. Then what? What happens when you run out of money to buy the supplies? OMGosh, again. Exhausting! Take a Deep Breath, It's OK! But I'm here to tell you...It's OK. You don't have to t...