Thing 16--Research & Reference Tools

 Beyond Google & Wikipedia! 

I’m thrilled with what MEL has to offer. I’ve been introduced to it before, but this overview really demonstrates the tools and resources. I’m excited to bring this back to my students. It offers so much of what we look for on a daily basis in regards to UDL, reliable resources and Internet experience for students. 

As for appropriateness, usability, content and credibility, all the databases on MEL rise above a standard Google or Wikipedia search. All are maintained by industry-recognized curators of information such as Gale. These are the same databases students will encounter in college, which is another reason to access them now – College & Career Readiness. They provide reliable resources that are updated regularly. 

Infotrac databases take the guess work out of Internet research. With tons of search options for students, it’s a great place to teach them how to research. Filtering tools allow for search by publication, topic, media type, keyword and more. Each database also returns suggested further search results similar to a yahoo, google or other traditional search engine, all of this in a super user-friendly format that students will find familiar based on general Internet experience. 

 

Further user support tools include audio files with text to speech read along tools, various download options from MP3 files to full-text copies, Lexile scores listed with all articles, and support for ELLs, such as the ability to change the language of the user interface and translate articles into 11 different languages. 

At the student level, I investigated Infotrac Junior and Infotrac Student. I searched for Summer Olympics in London. The main difference btwn Infotrac Junior and Infotrac Student is that Junior only returns full-text article and Student broadens the search to include podcasts and reference books.

I then searched the same topic in one of the advanced databases; General Reference Center Gold. This database combines all the materials of Junior and Student and adds maps, podcasts, videos and a few other magazines and articles of a less academic sort.

Citation Tools:  
With a quick click, students can generate either APA or MLA style citations right within MEL. Following is an example of a resource I found on MEL and the accompanying MEL-generated citation:  

Hennessey, G. S. (2012, July). Olympic games. Boys' Life, 102(7), 6. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA295057220&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

As for general citation tools, I prefer bibme.org. Why like it better than others is that bibme doesn't require an account, and the adds they run tend to be more student friendly-- less visually distracting than on other sites. I also like the user interface on bibme, with the colored icons it's a little easier to use than some of the more clinical looking bib sites. You can also annotate your bib on bibme. 

 

Following is a citation for the film "The Mission" a fantastic historical fiction account of Jesuit work in the early Americas. (I used to teach Spanish at a Jesuit high school. This film was a wonderful resource!) 

The Mission. Dir. Roland Joffe. Perf. Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Irons,. Warner Bros, 1986. Film.

Thing 15 - Staying Informed

Click here to visit my West Mi Ed Tech public page

I set up a Netvibes aggregator to go with my website -- West Mi Ed Tech. I've found this whole 21 Things process to be great for my work. Even thought I pretty familiar with tech tools, I've really expanded my toolkit and forced myself to try new things. I've already got a few aggregators that I use--google reader & Symbaloo. So I took this opportunity to start something fresh, just for my WMET. I love it. I was able to link my new WMET google calendar as well as a generic twitter feed for edtech. 

I chose the M-Live education news link and the Education Week Michigan news to make it specific to our area. I also added a couple of blogs I like; Blue Skunk and iear. And a few other generic news outlets; Ed Week Digital Directions, Google Ed Tech and Tech Crunch.

Of course it's one more thing to maintain, but my students will get good use out of it. It can be difficult to know what to pick or follow online. This netvibes page gives the beginner a nice one-stop source for getting started tapping into ed tech. I plan to add / remove content as I discover new items. I'm thinking I could create a new tab just for podcasts or just iOS info. 

As a teacher, this would be a great way to collect and share information for class projects, units, bell ringers etc. I found a few good examples for using netvibes in the classroom. The Thinking Stick site taught me how to share my page (which Netvibes didn't make very clear; insisting users need a Netvibes account to access a Netvibes page -- not true!)

Thinking Stick

Alexander Sperl
Langwitches 

Thing 14.2 -- Productivity; Google Calendar

So why a shared class calendar? Keep students and parents up-to-date with all your classroom happenings.  Standardized test dates, field trips & guest speakers, assignment details & due dates, and, most important of all,  VACATIONS! You can also link files and class resources via Google Drive. You could create one standard (school) calendar that links to all your calendars and then a separate one for each class or content area as needed. 

I created and shared a Google calendar for my Website. I've used shared calendars via 30 Boxes. I like a lot of the features in 30 boxes; it seems more robust. But the Google calendar is more convenient as it comes with the whole Google package and if you check out the google calendar labs you can see how to add 'flair' (event icons) and access other gadgets to beef up your calendar items. I'll have to return to this after exploring more. 

The West Mi Ed Tech calendar is public on google. Follow this link to access the html version.

Thing 14.1 -- Productivity; File Conversion

Converting files helps students access them regardless of the software they may be using. Putting them in .pdf format ups the security on your files as users can’t readily make changes to .pdf files. I often post items to district-wide shared drives which literally 1000s of users access and it’s reassuring to know that I have a secure paper trail in the event a rogue copy gets loose!:) 

Word allows you to do this quite easily. Simply choose .pdf as your file type when saving a document. I tend to keep duplicate copies of items I share with others; one .doc & one .pdf. This may seem extraneous, but by keeping an editable version, I can quickly update a rubric, newsletter or other doc and always know that I have the final available. It’s kind of like having a template. Plus I always know that the pdf is the official—best version. 

File conversion tools such as zamzar and media converter give you many more options and not just for working with text documents. The ability to convert to various audio, video and image files means anything you create can easily be viewed by any user. Here are just a few examples: tiff, thumbnail, html, pdf, jpg. A quick trick like this is especially useful as you consider multi-platform delivery. Students (and parents) access materials from a variety of endpoints devices; computers, phones, tablets etc. The ability (or willingness) of each individual manufacturer and operating system to support various file types can be frustrating. File conversion gives you a way to speak the language of each user. 

I really like the thumbnail option. Sometimes titles just aren’t enough. If you have a variety of resources for a particular unit of study, displaying thumbnails helps your students select what they’re looking for without having to click back and forth.

Thing 3 -- Extra! 5 step Process: Add Contacts from G-Spreadsheet

Ok...this is one of the fun wonders of all things Cloud / Internet. Today I wanted to add all my cohort-mates to my gmail contacts via the spreadsheet shared by our facilitators, however, I had no editing rights to the document. So...

My first thought:  

Save a copy of the spreadsheet so I can copy / paste emails. 

But this isn't really what I want to do. I want to upload all the info from the spreadsheet to my gmail contacts (first name, last name & email). I don't want to have to toggle btwn screens laboriously copy / pasting.

My second thought: 

There MUST be a way to auto-upload this. It IS a Google spreadsheet, I AM using Google Drive and I DO want them in my Gmail contacts. Surely the mighty google can connect all those dots for me. 

Third thought: 

Google: 'add contacts to gmail from google docs spreadsheet' :)  

Thought 3.5:  Top return looks good-- click on that...

#4

huh?? That's not English! 

Final Thought: 

Who needs English? This guy made a screencast that I can easily follow regardless of the fact that I do not recognize his spoken language.  And what does that say about communicating with kids? (ELL, or otherwise), and the true power of tech tools?

Voila! :) 

Thing 1 -- Diigo

Add caption

Social bookmarking is like the online file cabinet every teacher needs. I actually started using Diigo a couple of years ago. I originally started using it to catalog Websites and information that I intended to organize into lists and categories to share with staff. I dropped off that when I realized staff needed some training in social bookmarking in order too really take full advantage. 

I then started using symbaloo and it has fast become my preferred bookmarking tool. As a visual learner and being comfortable with the Apple apps format, Symbaloo was super easy to get started with. 

However, the updates to Diigo just in the last year are amazing! I love the educator tools such as setting up class groups. I also like all the new ways to clip, sort and use diigo. It appears to be very similar to Evernote, another of my favorite productivity tools.

So, how does social bookmarking increase productivity? 

 

Social bookmarking goes beyond your typical bookmarking tool. The tagging / sorting features help me organize resources across topics. Many times one article or Website applies to different topics in my work and tagging lets me put one resource in all relevant places.  

The trifecta of accessibility also keeps me going. Web, PC client & app give me ready access no matter which device I'm using and I can share resource with others instantly. 

Finally, the collaborative piece allows me to pull colleagues into my work. I'm currently working on a presentation for the upcoming MITS conference and used Diigo to collect and share resources with my co-presenter. We can both continue working and adding to the library at our convenience -- even over a holiday weekend-- without scheduling a meeting, phone call etc.

Thing 1 - Shortcuts

In this example, I used shortcuts to copy the format from the article heading to the last subheading. I triple-clicked to select the entire first paragraph and ctrl c / ctrl v copied it to the bottom of the page. I triple clicked again to select the entire paragraph and highlight it green. I added a double line under the first subheading by triple typing = / enter. Finally, using ctrl k I added a hyperlink to the photo that goes to a wikipedia article on La Tomatina.

Keyboard shortcuts help me zoom through my work. I learned some new ones today; ctrl k for hyperlink, triple click for paragraph. And I got some extra practice with format painter. That's one of those tools I just don't use often enough to ever remember how it works! 

The really great thing about keyboard shorcuts is they aren't software specific. Ctrl A works to highlight entire URLs (which can be interminable!). Partner that with ctrl k / ctrl c and you get an accurate hyperlink in 10 seconds or less in any document and even our Groupwise client. Ctrl Z is a lifesaver...I can go back as many steps as necessary. Sometimes while typing an email or document I drag my hand across the touchpad without realizing it; scooting my cursor to mysterious places or deleting whole blocks of text without realizing it. Ctrl z helps me quickly recover.