Webpage Deleted? I Don't Think So

When my students train for the Library-Media Council, I have them play a great shelving game called Order in the Library. In the last several months, it just disappeared from the University of Texas' site, apparently taken down by its creator. BUT.....those of you who know me are well aware that I don't give up that easily. I went to the Wayback Machine, which is part of the Internet Archive site. Since 1996, they have stored 240 billion URLs!  All you have to do is search your deleted site as seen below:

As for Order in the Library, my students are able to play the shelving game here thanks to the Wayback Machine. Remember: your students may "think" they deleted something, but it's still there......

The Truth About Driving and Cellphones

I don't understand it. People disobeying the law every day, talking and texting on their cellphones. One guy gave me the finger the other day and I was just staring at him, hoping that he realized what he was doing was wrong. I have my own theory why student drivers continue to text and drive; adults all around them are breaking the law every day. I pass adult drivers talking on the phone (some think that holding the phone with the speakerphone on is hands free) every single day to and from work and my commute is 25 minutes max. Here's the reality: if you text and drive, one day you will die in a car accident. The distraction of talking on the phone while driving (I have a Bluetooth hands-free device and try not to use it) is dangerous, plain and simple. Do you teach driver's education? Although I have previously posted resources , many of the one I haves below are extremely graphic. Trying to get through to your students? Some will be sickened by the images, others will laugh it off thinking they are immortal. At any rate, it is necessary to keep trying to get the message through---do not use your cellphone while driving. Although it is a very old movie,  Signal 30 tells it like it really is and shows actual accidents and dead bodies. It has been shown in countless driver's ed classes.



This video was produced by the Gwent Police in the UK.


Very Graphic Photos- accident shows body cut in half

Biology Teachers: Try These 32 Resources

I am trying to complete the page I have set up for science, so today I am adding biology resources. You can access all science topics by using the tab at the top. Did I miss something? Please let me know.


SITES
Biological Animations- from St. Olaf College

Biology Animation Library- from DNA Learning Center; about 15 listed

Biology Animations- currently 50 listed

The Biology Corner- worksheets, quizzes

Biology for Life- Skyline High School's excellent site

The Biology Project- from the University of Arizona; site is constantly updating

Biology Simulations- from the University of Colorado at Boulder; list of 23 simulations

Biology Questions- over 1,800!

Bozeman Biology- YouTube channel of videos

Cell Biology Websites

Cells Alive!

DNA From the Beginning- 75 animated experiments

Explore Biology- AP Biology assignments, lecture notes, presentations and more from Ms. Foglia

Hippocampus Biology- free help with biology homework; simulations, presentations from Khan Academy and NROCC

Interactive Biology- videos, quizzes (high school, college)

Meiosis Tutorial- from University of Arizona

National Association of Biology Teachers- general biology resource links

Principles of Biology- NING developed by Benton High School and MWSU

Rader's Biology 4 Kids

Teachervision Biology Resources

Thingdom- interactive game "Thingdom challenges students to select and breed 'Things' to bring out particular characteristics through inheritance."

LESSON PLANS
Awesome Library- nice listing here of lesson plans

Biology 4 Teachers- lesson plans, PowerPoints and activities

The Biology Corner Lesson Plans- includes worksheets by topic, covers AP Bio as well

Biology Lesson Plans- from the Science Spot; includes Internet-based lessons

Free Biology Lesson Plans- for younger grades K-5

Free High School Biology Worksheets- PDF file downloads

Genetic Lesson Plan Ideas

High School Biology/Life Science Lessons- from Better Lesson

Share My Lesson- covers grades 9-12 biology classes

Teachervision Biology Lesson Plans- sort by grade level

TeAchnology Lesson Plans

Science Teachers: Tyler DeWitt Shows You How to Make Class Fun

The teachers I remember most from high school were those who made class enjoyable. It was the boring ones whom turned me off to the subject matter; those who themselves weren't excited about the information they were sharing with their students. When I taught library skills for grades K-5, I was always trying to find ways to get my kids involved in the learning process, including allowing the kids to rap and break-dance while reciting the Dewey Decimal categories. Science teacher Tyler DeWitt shows how easy it is to get creative when teaching what could be a very boring lesson.

Let's Teach Our Students About Copyright: 15 Sites Which Can Assist You

An important area for all teacher-librarians to cover is copyright law. Students (and teachers) are really not aware of what they can and can't do legally. I teach my students about plagiarism and copyright because they will be held accountable if they do not follow the law. This list has been added to the Teacher-Librarian page.

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education- assists teachers in fair use doctrine; from the Center for Social Media

Copyright Advisory Network- "a way for librarians to learn about copyright and seek feedback and advice from fellow librarians and copyright specialists"

Copyright Basics- from Copyright Kids!

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers- PDF document

Creative Commons- various sharing methods explained

Cyberbee- cute interactive for grades 4-9

Fair Use Evaluator- "understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code."

Fair Use Wiki- the fair use clause explained

Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright- from the Library of Congress; interactive for kids in grades 4-8

Teaching Copyright- Five 60-minute lessons

TeachersFirst Copyright and Fair Use Resources

United States Copyright Office- search records, register works


What is Copyright?- wiki managed by by teacher Mary Beth Hertz

Weeding Books From Your Collection? Here Are 15 Resources

I'm currently in the process of inventory and weeding. Why both, you might ask? Well, as I go along scanning my books, I very often come across a book which looks like it has been here since our school was built. (1963) With old titles, such as "Disco King", a red light often often goes off and I check the card to see the last time the book was taken out. When you are dealing with a limited budget as I am, you sometimes have to keep that very, very old copy of "Gulliver's Travels" or "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" because it is a classic book. This list can also be found on the Teacher-Librarians page of this blog.

10 Ways to Give Weeded Books a Second Life

Attack Your Collection: Weeding with CREW from Dawn Krause

Be Proactive: Weed- School Library Monthly post

CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries- a 93-page document from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Less is More: A Practical Guide to Weeding School Library Collections- book by Donna J. Baumbach and Linda L. Miller

Weed 'Em And Weep from Awful Library Books

Weeding Guidelines By Subject from Ed Sadowski

Weeding Library Collections- this wiki includes great ideas on what to do with weeded books, including  book sales, donation and more.

Weeding Library Collections: A Selected Annotated Bibliography for Library Collection Evaluation-
ALA library fact sheet

Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections- book by Linda S. Katz

Weeding: A Practical Manual for Librarians- 7-page document from the Jefferson County Public Schools

Weeding the School Library- brochure from the California Department of Education

Weeding Presentation from Jennifer Peterson

Weeding Your Library- simple page on basics from Perma-Bound Books

Weeding Your Library- tips from teacher-librarian Cindy

19 Great Web Curation Tools

There certainly is no shortage of ways to collect content from the web. Apps make it even easier to sync with your computer and smartphone. Every time I find a resource I love (but don't have time to look at it) I clip it to Evernote. This list has been added to the Teacher-Librarian page. What's your favorite curation tool?


Bag the Web- curate web content to make your own topic bags

Bundlr- create and share bundles of content

eduClipper- educational digital clipboard

Evernote- one of my favorites; sync with your smartphone, home computer and work compute

Video streaming by Ustream

Juxtapost- all of your favorite things, side-by-side

Kuratur- "cool, customized automated content magazines"

Kweeper- collect videos, pictures, sites with one click

Livebinders-"3-ring binder for the web"



Livebinders Tutorial from EdTechTeacher on Vimeo.

Only2Clicks- organize your sites with various tabs, (like folders) and thumbnails

Paper.li- your own online newspaper

Pinterest- online pinboard

RebelMouse- "your social front page"; app available

Scoop.it- create a topic and Scoop.it will proceed to find you links on the Internet which are related to your topic

Spaaze- collect and organize web sites, videos etc. in one location, a giant cork-board.

Springpad- save information on your computer and it will sync with your mobile device (Android or iPhone)

Storify- tell your stories by curating social media posts

Surfmark- collect, express, collaborate

Themeefy- allows you to create, curate and publish; phone app available



Trapit- captures what you want and “serves it up fresh and spam-free all day long.”