Free eBooks for Primary School Kids

I finally had a bit of time to compile this livebinder of free eBooks for primary school kids.  It includes fiction, non-fiction, audio books, plays, create your own stories and eBook research  I was able to build on suggestions from the NZ library listserv, which is a wonderful resource for librarians.

Some public libraries also allow you to borrow eBooks or use eBook sites they have subscribed to.  Hamilton City Libraries, for example, allows you to access Tumblebooks, an interactive eBook site.  They also lend out eBooks, including some picture books and fiction for children.

If you know of any more sites I would love to hear about them.

Cool New Tool - ThingLink

I had a go at ThingLink and my principal emailed it to the Board of Trustees because he loved it.  And it really wasn't that hard!  If you want something with that wow factor that won't take forever to learn then this is it.  



So basically ThingLink enables you to add music, video, text, images etc to any image you like.  I wanted parents to be able to find out what class their children were in and then immediately be able to learn about the teacher in that class.  A video of them would have been great but I made do with their staff profiles on our website.

The site you want is www.thinglink.com.  Here is a video tutorial to get you started.  

I ended up changing my school site map to make the classrooms slightly bigger to fit the links in.  Even after I had made them as small as possible they were too large for my original map.  So have a think about how much room you have and where you will put your links.  

You also don't want a lot of links close to each other.  Our admin team have their own profiles but I chose to have one link to the whole team so there weren't a whole bunch of links crowded together.

If you want some ideas of ways to use ThingLink you can look at some of the examples on the site.  If you want to use it in the classroom (or library) then have a look at the suggestions here.

All in all I had a blast trying ThingLink and would recommend it to everyone.  Go on, have a go!

Help me...I'm doing another one!

To clarify, that's another MOOC - Massive Open Online Course.  I started last year with my gamification course, managed to fit in the Google Power Searching course near the end and then moved on to a creative commons offering which proved too hard to fit in right around Christmas.  This year I decided I should take it easy and work on all the other projects I have planned, but I was tempted into joining #etmooc.  This is an educational technology & media mooc that has over 1200 participants from 67 countries.  The international organisers are professors and other gurus from the educational technology field.  How could I resist?!  If you're interested in finding out more about it then check here.  They hold blackboard collaborate sessions and are on twitter and have a Google+ community.

My orientation week activity was to create an introductory video about myself.  I joined Google+ to see what everyone else was doing and decided to have a go with Animoto, which has the advantage of being very short (30 secs max on free version). 


Try our slideshow maker at Animoto.

I am very keen to continue with this mooc and meet like-minded people from around the world.  As I say in the video I do love to learn new things.  The trick will be fitting it in with everything else.  Any time management tips would be much appreciated!

Sharing Apps

A couple of tweets have caught my interest recently because they linked to a great site for sharing apps.  So despite the fact I have a huge list of other things I'm meant to be doing I allowed myself a little play on www.list.ly.

Being a librarian one thing that appeals to me about this way of sharing your apps is that you can tag them so they are easy to search.  So if someone is looking for maths apps then they can click on maths and away you go.   The set up is very, very easy.  You can paste in the URL to the app and everything is populated for you, even the picture.  I wanted to make mine a bit more personal with my own opinions about the apps so it took a little longer, but it still is the quickest way I've seen to make a personalised app list.

You are able to share the list and, all going well, you should be able to see my list as I embed it in this blog.  It is a work in progress but you will get the idea.  I like the fact that you can vote on the apps you like the best (please do!).

Great iPad Apps for Education

View more lists from Michelle Simms

7 Steps to Creating a School Website

Image: 'untitled' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65002265@N00/4343097207
Found on flickrcc.net

Our new school website has just gone live.  Earlier this year I was asked to take over managing our website.  For anyone else embarking on a project like this, here is how I went about it:

1.  Research

I was lucky to be given time to research what makes a good website.  Here are some of the notes I made around good design features:

• Clear organization, easy to navigate and use
• Menu system that is clear and concise
• Eye-catching, visual design
• Contemporary
• Easy to return to homepage
• Need reason to return
• Regularly updated pages
• Student published work
• Photos, videos, school events
• Fast loading time
• Cross browser compatibility, able to use on iPad
• Dynamic news panels
• Search feature
• Make sure it is easy to edit content
• Avoid:
• Too much content, especially on home page
• Not enough photos
• Never updating
• Lengthy pages
• Comic sans font
• Links that don’t work

A memorable quote I found was that a good website should be a "gateway to parental involvement".  I also visited the websites of other primary schools and evaluated what I liked and didn't like about their sites.  As we were considering changing website providers I noted who they were using for website management.  I also jotted down the type of content provided to make sure our site was comprehensive.

2.  Review current site

With the best practice information I gathered I thoroughly evaluated our current site.  My recommendations were as follows:

Homepage

• Reduce the amount of tabs so the menu system is clear and concise
• Add a quick links section so frequently requested information is immediately accessible
• Include a large slideshow of photos to add an eye-catching visual element
• Add a search feature
• Move some of the content elsewhere to streamline the look

Whole Site

• Ensure the website can work on iPads 
• Embed maps and video rather than link to them to increase visual appeal
• Include more photos wherever possible
• In order to provide a reason to return to the site include student published work and photos and videos of school events (and publicize them on our Facebook site)
• Ensure that all our links work and all our pages have current information on them
• Maintain a common style on every page (including font, layout and standard photo sizes)
• Include short videos on how to help your child with reading, or explaining how we teach maths etc

3.  Compare website providers

I then compared the cost and service of a number of website providers.  At the top end of the scale the school website my principal admired was custom-built for over $10,000.  I talked to salespeople from our existing provider and another company called SpikeatSchool.  In the end I recommended switching to SpikeatSchool because the setup and hosting fees were considerably cheaper than our existing supplier.  The hosting fee was cheaper because our existing supplier gave us the option of sending them content to add to our site.  We didn't use this service so were paying for something we didn't need.  SpikeatSchool provided an obligation free trial and I found that the creation of content was very similar to our existing provider.  This meant that our principal, receptionist and PTA could add their content without too much difficulty.

4.  Create a template

The next step was to work on a look for the site.  I came up with some ideas and made a mock up on Publisher.  I sent this through to Brendon at SpikeatSchool, who got his designer to work on it.  What came back was a bit different to what I had sent through, but it had some lovely features I hadn't thought of.  With a bit of back and forth (I was adamant that our logo shouldn't cover any part of the slideshow), we settled on the current design.

5.  Swap over content

Luckily I was able to transfer over all the content from our existing site to the trial site, so that when we went live the website was fully functional.  This process was particularly time consuming as I evaluated all of the information I transferred over and made a register of anything that would need to be regularly updated.  This included things like staff mentioning how old their children were in their profiles, to uniform price lists and student house leaders.

6. Points to note

• It will take a lot longer than you think to transfer over content, particularly if you help deploy a school set of iPads and organise a Book Week in-between.
• Make sure your new website provider can do everything your existing one did.  A bit late in the day I discovered our mailing list would have to be managed by using a third-party provider.  The always helpful Brendon from SpikeatSchool recommended “Mailchimp”, which is a free mail manager.  I had to learn how to use it with a deadline looming and it would have been better to be aware of this from the start.
• Check and double check information on your website.  It is embarrassing (and confusing for parents) if, for example, you put your personal phone number at the bottom of your school website(!).  Even if I did get it fixed before the principal noticed.
• Be prepared to make changes where necessary once the site has gone live.  The increased traffic to your new site will mean increased scrutiny.  In my case I received feedback about material that was identical to that on the previous site.

7.  Encourage visitors

When the site launched we used our school Facebook page to announce it and link to it.

We have also used this new website as a good opportunity to revise the way we distribute our school newsletters.  Previously we emailed a link to the newsletter to some parents but the majority still received paper copies.  Now we have advised parents that because the school wants to “reduce, reuse and recycle” we will be emailing the link to the newsletter to all parents unless they contact the office or don’t have an email address.  The good thing about this is that not only does it save time and money but the link to the newsletter takes people to our home page and then they click on the “newsletter” tab from there.  This means that each family should visit our home page every week. 

To capture interest and create that “gateway to parental involvement” my aim is to make weekly updates to the news and photos on our home page.  I also want to feature and link to different parts of the website so parents know what content we have on our site.

Gamification - Book Clubs and MOOCs

Gamification is a relatively new term so I'll start with a definition - gamification is the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts.  It is a way to bring the fun and motivating aspects of games to the real world.  As a librarian I'm interested in how gamification might work to motivate students to read more.

My first real introduction to gamification came via a blog I subscribe to called "The Adventures of Library Girl."  Jennifer LaGarde, the American librarian otherwise known as "Library Girl", joined up with fellow librarian Matthew Winner and launched a new blog called the "Level Up Book Club".  This book club now boasts a Twitter hashtag, Wiki, Tumblr, Live Binder and Diigo group.



The first book we read as part of the book club was "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal.  What a fantastic book!  Easy to read and very inspiring.  Jane has also done a great TED talk about how gaming can make a better world.

We are about to read our fourth book on gamification and Jennifer and Matthew have applied their ideas about gamification to their book club to keep it fun and interesting.

So, on to the MOOC.  What is a MOOC you may ask (I certainly did!).  It is a Massive Open Online Course.  As a result of following some of the Level Up Book Club's more active members on Twitter I learnt about a MOOC that was starting on a website called Coursera.  Professor Kevin Werbach from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania was running a six week course about gamification.  I am one of over 71,000 people enrolled from 147 countries.  How cool is that?!  The course itself is one of the first on gamification in any form so I'm not surprised interest is high.

I was really keen to see how the course would work.  It involves watching a series of video lectures, completing quizzes and writing assignments.  At the end of the course you receive a certificate if you have achieved a grade of 70% or over. 

The assignments are graded by your peers.  If you submit an assignment then you are expected to grade five other assignments using a fairly basic rubric.  Here is a link to an interesting article about the problems associated with this.  I actually should be working on my first assignment now (I'm great with avoidance tactics!).  Twelve hours after the deadline I should receive some assignments to mark and I think it will be interesting to read what others have done.  The first assignment is only worth 5 points and is a maximum of 300 words so shouldn't be too taxing.

So far I am really enjoying the course.  How can you not like a lecturer who asks you to go away and play the first level of Plants vs Zombies?! (OK, I played two levels, my willpower was weak!).  I did wonder if I would be more likely to abandon the course if it became too demanding because I had not paid money to do it.  However, the high interest I have in the content of the course has ensured I am motivated to finish it.

I like the concept of gamification and am keen to see how I can apply it to my professional life.  Next week I am attending a National Library seminar about the summer reading slide.  I am hoping that gamification might be useful in keeping children reading over the summer.  But first I have an assignment to write...

iPads - E-Learning Staff Meeting

Yesterday we held an e-learning staff meeting and went over some feedback that had been solicited from staff about how they were going with their iPads.  It has been ten weeks now since they were deployed.  There was a lot of very positive feedback and a few queries that were dealt with at the meeting.

Brian, our principal, showed everyone how to find eTAP, our student management system, on Safari and then save it onto their home screen.  He then made everyone's day by handing out $20 iTunes cards.

Several teachers had asked for more help sessions so we will run three more of these this term.  A good suggestion from the iPad feedback was to create a Google Doc for sharing ideas about what apps are working and what teachers are doing with them.  Andrea, our head of e-learning, has set this up and we spent a bit of time adding to it.

Andrea and I wanted to share a practical example of how to use some apps so we recreated a session we attended at the Mobile Devices in Classrooms conference earlier this year.  We asked the teachers to draw three scenes from a fairy tale and connect them to show a story. The apps we used were "Draw Free for iPad" and "Popplet Lite".  Here is the instruction sheet (although I couldn't add the pictures on the day as my mail wasn't working from my iPad so this is the better version).

The session went well.  The teachers did things like use the stickers and change the background in Draw Free, which we hadn't mentioned because we wanted to keep it simple.  Drawing three scenes was probably a bit ambitious due to the time constraints but it was good to see everyone having a go.

To finish the exercise Andrea asked everyone to get together in groups and come up with ideas about how the apps could be used in the classroom.  There was a great range from P.E. to Maori and everything in between.  Hopefully we will see some examples coming through on the shared Google Doc.

Facebook vs Blogger

Today I launched our library's Facebook page.  I have to confess that I'm not an avid Facebook user personally.  However, when I wanted a way to connect with our wider community to share book reviews, apps and library events, it was a clear winner.

Lots of libraries have blogs but the main problem with them is that not many people know how to use an RSS reader (well that's my opinion but I certainly get a lot of blank stares when I talk about Google Reader). This means that every time you post you need to make a big fuss to try and get people to read your work (like I will shortly with this post!).  Facebook, on the other hand, pushes your messages straight to your fans without them having to do anything except choose to "like" your page.

In order to get people to "like" my page I am shamelessly using a prize ($20 book voucher).  We have a school Facebook page so I will be promoting my page on there, and I've put a notice in our school newsletter too.  If you want to have a look at our library Facebook page, here it is.

I think another benefit is that Facebook posts are short and sweet and therefore people feel they can spare the time to read them.  A lengthier blog post requires a bit more commitment (well done for getting this far!).

I guess it's strange that I'm writing a blog about how much better Facebook is but I am talking specifically about reaching my audience of a school community.  In my professional capacity as a librarian and technology enthusiast you can see that my vote is for Blogger.

By the way, for the first time I have used one of my own photos in my posts (the one I'm using on our Facebook page).  I used an iPad app called Snapseed to add an effect called Grunge.  It was a lot of fun so expect to see more.

iPad Deployment - Week Two

  by  flickingerbrad 

Our I.T. guy, Richard, has fixed our wi-fi network issues so we now don’t have to log back in with username and password after the iPads go to sleep.  Yay!

Drop-in iPad Meeting

We had another successful drop-in iPad meeting.  Four teachers turned up and they were a mixture of those who needed further help with the basics and those who had sped ahead and were asking difficult questions!  Either way I was really happy they chose to come.  Things we covered were:

• Putting files into folders
• Setting the orientation lock
• Changing wi-fi settings (the fix to our log-on issues)
• How to do updates
• Finding apps in the App Store

All of these things were on our FAQ document but I know some people find the personal touch better.

I also showed one of the teachers the Show Me app and later emailed her this blog post from Jacqui Sharp which demonstrates what teachers can do with it.

The question of email came up.  We haven’t set up a class email for the iPads.  One idea was that teachers download the Google Search app and log in and out of their accounts when needed.  This could be cumbersome, I guess it depends on how often they will need to email.  Also, I have had issues with not being able to use Google Search to email the Book Creator app and I wonder if there may be problems with other apps too.  I see that you can hide your iPad mail account so this may be another way to handle mail.  I think the safest and easiest way may be to set up class emails.

Volume Purchase Program

I found out via twitter this week that the Volume Purchase Program is ‘coming soon’ to New Zealand.  I’m not sure what this will mean for us but in the meantime I guess we just have to keep going as we are.

Things We Need to Work On

• We haven’t worked out why the videos we take won’t play on Apple TV.  I tried them out at home, and they worked fine, so the problem appears to be tied up with the network.
• Can we access files on our network?  Some of the teachers at our drop-in meeting asked if they could access particular items from our network.  I am a fan of the Virtual Learning Network and have found a reference to the Files Connect app here, which sounds like it might fit the bill.  Another thing to bring up with Richard.
• What is the best way to transfer photos?  Our head of e-learning and I tried the Bump app and I know that there is also a Photo Transfer app, Files Connect, emailing and Photo Stream.  I guess the only way to know is try a few and see if they meet our needs.
• Richard is working on being able to print from the iPads and hopefully this will be in place soon.  He is using a program called Paper Cut.

I feel like my lack of knowledge was highlighted this week (in my defence I'm not an I.T. person, I'm a librarian who simply volunteered to help).  I’ve had an iPad since November but a lot of the things I need to know now are related to managing multiple iPads.  Richard comes in for four hours on Mondays so I have a barrage of questions for him and will keep on learning.  I am finding the new challenges exciting.

Welcome to Life

I love this video!  At less than 3 minutes it won't take long to have a look and tell me what you think.  I love the three tiers and also the reference to copyright.