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School Libraries

HistoryPin: Maps, Photos and Stories

Oct 6th, 2010
by pollyalida.
2 comments

I’m getting delightfully lost in the HistoryPin website. Old photos, layered on top of Google Maps and stories to go with them – all things that I love to explore.

What is HistoryPin?

The site invites the public to dig out, upload and pin their own old photos, as well as the stories behind them, onto the Historypin map. Uniquely, Historypin allows users to layer their old images onto modern Street View scenes, revealing a series of windows into the past.

Historypin is one in a series of projects created as part of We Are What We Do’s campaign to get generations talking more, sharing more and coming together more often.  (http://goo.gl/7URp)

Wouldn’t this would be a great project for libraries and schools to get involved with? It makes me think of the wonderful Remember When photo & memory project done by the Ipswich Library in Queensland Australia.

(The screenshots at the top are then & now images of a tunnel called the Argyle Cut that was dug through a sandstone ridge in Sydney in the mid 1800′s. )

Symbaloo & Research 2.0 Workshop

Sep 24th, 2010
by pollyalida.
2 comments

SymbalooSymbalooEDU -  Symbaloo is a handy personalized start page service that helps you organize  links to favorite sites and displays headlines from RSS feeds. Similar start page services include iGoogle, NetVibes and Pageflakes. Though Symbaloo has been around for a couple of years, they’ve just launched a new education oriented version of their service.

Symbaloo takes a very graphical approach with every link appearing as a colorful square tile on a grid. Tabs across the top of the page let users set up multiple pages of content based on their own interests.  Each page can also include a center box with quick access to a variety of productivity tools including: search engines, encyclopedias, to do lists, calculator and more. Tabs can be shared with others, making it simple for a teacher/librarian to set up basic page of resources for students and then have students customize their own versions of the pages.

School Library – Research 2.0 – October 16, 2010

SymbalooEDU is one of the many tools we’ll take a look at during the School Library Research 2.0 workshop coming up on October 16th in Albany, NY.  The workshop will cover web tools that will help you and your students take a fresh approach to research projects, one that involves collaborating and sharing. During this workshop you’ll learn how to take advantage of tools that will help you and your students manage resources, organize data, collaborate with team members and connect with experts. And did I mention we’ll have a lot of fun too?  For more information check the  Capital Area BOCES SLS Calendar.

Summer Reading Glogster Poster

May 12th, 2010
by pollyalida.
1 comment

Jan Tunison, who is the Head of Library Services at the Scotia-Glenville (NY) High School forwarded this wonderful summer reading poster that she created with Glogster. Additionally, she’s in the process of creating ones for chapter books and nonfiction.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished project with all the linked posters!

Google Sessions at Capital Region School Library System

Apr 20th, 2010
by pollyalida.
3 comments

Thanks to everyone for attending the last two workshops at the Capital Region BOCES School Library System. As promised, here are the slides from today’s Search Update and the Google Earth workshop a few weeks ago.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the next session on Google Sites & Docs. Do let me know if you have specific things you want to cover. (leave a comment below) Thanks! (more…)

A Nation Without School Libraries

Apr 5th, 2010
by pollyalida.
4 comments

(via: AASL Hotlinks April 2010)

Add to the Google map of a nation without school librarians
This map marks the cities, towns, communities, and states that have made the decision to either eliminate certified school library positions or require one school librarian to work with two or more school library programs throughout the week. Librarians and library supporters across the country are adding to this online map.

Know of any libraries that should be added? You can add them.


View A Nation Without School Librarians in a larger map

School Library Tech Camp – March 2010

Mar 26th, 2010
by pollyalida.
1 comment

Last weekend, 30+ school librarians & classroom teachers gathered at the Hotel Thayer at West Point for 2 days of Tech Camp! After a bit of a rocky start due to problems with the hotel’s wireless network (which the ever resourceful Danielle handily solved!), we were off to the races.

Tech camp is a two day immersion in technology tools and and an opportunity to explore ideas for integrating technology into the curriculum.  The sessions offer school librarians (and classroom teachers) (more…)

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