The Scanner In this Issue: Tools of the Trade
What is SIGMS? SIGMS provides a support network to school library media specialists and others in leadership positions who are working to promote the use of instructional technologies to enhance student learning. It provides a forum where we can consider and explore ways in which we can best use existing and emerging technologies to improve and enhance teaching and instruction, student learning and management, helping students and teachers become competent, critical and ethical users of information.
Volume 3 Number 1
Page 2 Our Organization Page 3 President’s Message Page 4 Professionally Speaking Page 5 SIGMS Committees Page 6 ISTE 2012 Page 7 SIGMS Newsletter Guidelines Pages 8 –11 The Web 2.0 Tool for Tomorrow Pages 12-13 Teachers Hot for 1T@T Pages 14-15 Apps ‘Birther’ Syndrome and Geek Culture @ The Library Pages 16-17 Science Apps Pages 18-19 eReaders as Common Core Curricular Tools Pages 20-21 Nooks Add Color to Recent Fiction Class
Second Life
Our Organization Executive Committee
Committee Chairs
Maureen Sanders-Brunner Chair Ball State University Muncie, Indiana mdsbrunner@gmail.com
Advocacy Kathy Sanders Taylor Prairie IMC Director kathy_sanders@mgschools. net
Tiffany Whitehead Vice Chair Central Community Schools Baton Rouge, Louisana twhitehead@centralcss.org
International Librarianship Lesley Farmer California State University Long Beach lfarmer@csulb.edu
Laurie Conzemius Communications Chair Pine Meadow Elementary School conzemius@q.com
Newsletter Carolyn Starkey Buckhorn High School admin@jojo-starkey.com
Brenda Anderson Professional Development Chair Montgomery County Public Schools brendadanderson@gmail.com
Webinar Jennifer Gossman Holy Redeemer jgossman@insightbb.com Andrea Christman Rosa Parks Middle School Andrea_L_christman@mcpsmd .org
Annette Lamb, Ph.D. Member-at-Large School of Library and Information Science Indiana University alamb@eduscapes.com
Technology Innovation Award Tim Staal MAME tstaal@gmail.com
QR Code for SIGMS Wiki http://sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/
Maureen SandersBrunner A Message from the SIGMS Chair Greetings from the SIGMS Leadership Team! It is hard to believe the 2011-2012 school year is half over and we are already looking forward to ISTE 2012 in Sunny San Diego California! It seems like we were all just together in Philly! Even though the winter has been on the mild side for most of us, things at SIGMS have continued to heat up! The Leadership Team continues to look forward to receiving your responses for our call to participation, learning with you in our webinars, and chatting with you on our various social media portals. And as always be sure to look us up on the SIGMS member wiki and let us know if you have any questions, comments, or kudos for our leadership team! Brief biographies of the members of the team follow: Myself as chair of the SIGMS Executive Committee. I am a former school library media specialist, now an instructor and a PhD student at Ball State University majoring in educational technology. I also serve on the board of my state professional association, the Association of Indiana School Library Educators, which is an ISTE affiliate organization. Vice-chair is Tiffany Whitehead. Tiffany is a passionate,
young librarian who loves what she does. Tiff, also known as the Mighty Little Librarian, is an obsessive reader, social media user, and technology geek. She is a teacher-librarian at Central Middle School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Constantly looking for new ways to learn and share with others, Tiff is working to move her district forward with implementing new technologies. Her adventures with education, technology, and the library can be followed on her blog, www.mightylittlelibrarian.com a nd on Twitter @librarian_tiff. Laurie Conzemius is the communications chair. She is the media specialist at Pine Meadow Elementary School in Minnesota. Laurie’s job on the committee is to oversee the newsletter committee and the new social media committee. Brenda Anderson is the professional development chair. She works at Montgomery County Public Schools. Brenda oversees the webinar committee that identifies great topics, finds topnotch presenters, and organizes our virtual meeting spaces. Serving as the member-at-large is Dr. Annette Lamb. Dr. Lamb from the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana
University Purdue University Indianaplis (IUPUI). This year ISTE will be unveiling a new process to tap into our most valuable resources – YOUour membership! We know that SIGMS members are the most innovative and active school library media specialists in the world, and ISTE wants to make sure each of you has an opportunity to share your gifts with others. One of the most important opportunities to share with your fellow SIGMS members is the high quality, timely, and FREE monthly professional development webinars. Our March 14th One-Tool-At-A-Time webinar, which is co-sponsor by SIGILT, will be on the topic of Infographics and presented by Carolyn Jo Starkey. Watch the SIGMS wiki for additional webinar opportunities and contact a committee member if you feel the urge to present. Voting in the annual ISTE elections will open on March 13th. This year SIGMS will be electing a communications chair and a professional development chair. Candidates will be notified of election results at the end of April and the new officers will take office during the June ISTE 2012 conference!
Maureen
Brenda D. Anderson Professional Development Chair Professionally Speaking SIGMS brings you two exciting webinar series this year: ISTE SIGMS webinars and 1 Tool at a Time webinars. With the wealth of education webinars to attend, why choose to participate in these particular webinars? Time spent attending a SIGMS professional development event, is time well spent. Our webinars offer: Practical content to apply to teaching practice Great presenters who are educators leading the way in technology integration Professional networking Free professional development from the comfort of your home Free resources Many of the topics focus on the professional needs of media specialists, however the content is applicable to any educator wanting to learn about the latest tools, news, and issues in the educational technology world. SIGMS wants to support your professional development on an on-going basis, so check out the resources found on our webinar wiki pages. Here you will find links to archived webinars and associated presenter resources.
ISTE SIGMS Webinar Series http://sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/Webinars
Upcoming Events
Upcoming events can be located on the SIGMS wiki at http:// sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/ Webinars.
lated to educational technology for school, community college, and higher ed librarians; teachers, administrators, and other members. Additional information may be found on the Australia Series wiki page which is maintained at http:// sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/ australiaseries.
Archived Events
Links to the archives of previously presented webinars can be found on the webinar page at http://sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/ Webinars.
Australia Series
ISTE SIGMS is proud to partner with the Australia Series to provide a wealth of timely international professional development webinars for our members. This partnership allows us to offer events in a wider variety of time zones to meet the needs of our international members. These webinars will focus on topics re-
The 1 Tool At a Time: Build Your Toolbelt webinar series is brought to you monthly by ISTE's SIGMS and SIGILT. Each webinar lasts for 30 minutes and focuses on a particular tool. Classroom integration strategies are highlighted and there is time for discussion. Previews of the upcoming 1 Tool at a Time events as well as archives of previous events can be accessed at http://1toolatatime.wikispaces.com
Laurie Conzemius Communications Chair SIGMS Committees Greetings to all of our great SIGMS members and friends! I’d like to thank you for your participation in SIGMS – both in person at the ISTE conference (and at AASL!), and through our many professional development opportunities online. It is always fun to see the names of those of you I have met through SIGMS! This fall a small committee of SIGMS members reviewed conference proposals for the 2012 ISTE Conference in San Diego. Thank you to Jennifer Hanson, Carolyn Starkey, and Linda Dougherty for the many hours
they put in reading and reviewing conference proposals! We agreed that there are some great sessions planned. You will definitely want to be in San Diego next summer! Jason Epstein has jumped on board to help with our social networking in SIGMS. There are so many different avenues for bringing our professional development and online discussions to our members. Jason will work with his committee to streamline our communication and to increase and supercharge our channels. Welcome Jason! If Ja-
son calls upon you to volunteer, please jump right in! In addition to our awesome professional development, especially our monthly webinars and our One Tool at a Time webinars, we invite you to participate in the Technology Innovation Award competition. For complete information about the Technology Innovation Award, visit http://www.iste.org/ membership/awards-andrecognition/list-of-awards/sigmedia-specialist-technologyinnovation-award.aspx.
Help shape ISTE's future! As a current ISTE member, your opinions about the benefits and services we provide are valuable to us as we evaluate our programs today and plan ahead for the association’s future and how we serve educators. Your ideas shape ISTE’s future. We hope you will take just a few minutes to complete our ISTE 2012 Membership Survey. We thank you for being a member of ISTE. We believe that our members can offer valuable insights and perspectives about the role of our services in their professional practice. Ten survey respondents will be randomly selected to receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate… ISTE’s way of encouraging all members to participate in this important research effort and to say thank you! Again, we thank you for taking the time to complete ISTE 2012 Membership Survey and participating in this critical research project. Sincerely, ISTE Membership Services
http://www.isteconference.org/2012/
Carolyn Starkey Newsletter Committee Chair SIGMS Newsletter Guidelines The SIGMS Scanner is the newsletter of ISTE's special interest group for library media specialists and related school leaders working to promote the use of instructional technologies to enhance student learning. This newsletter will feature SIGMS business items, SIGMS professional development alerts, member article submissions, personal success stories, and links to great resources. We will be publishing 3 newsletters this year.
Issue Themes Winter (March 2012) Tools of the Trade
Article Proposals
Proposals for feature and short articles should be 100 words or less and submitted through this Googledoc form: https:// spreadsheets.google.com/ viewform? hl=en&formkey=dFppbmwtT19E M3pIcm1SYmxBVk9iVUE6MQ#g id=0
Article Lengths
a) Feature articles and personal success stories should be between 500 and 1,000 words. A maximum of 2 photos and/ or graphics may be submitted with the article. b) Short articles of less than 500 words are welcome. These articles may be accompanied by 1 photo or graphic. c) An author photo and brief biography should be submitted with the article.
Final Submissions
Spring (April 2012) Teaching and Learning Pre-Conference (June 2012) Professional Development Policy Issues
Deadlines Deadlines associated with The Scanner may be found on the SIGMS wiki at http:// sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/ SIGMS+Scanner+Newsletter+Gui delines.
After notification of acceptance, final versions of articles and other submissions should be submitted to sigms.newsletter@gmail.com.
Information
Additional information regarding SIGMS Scanner submissions should addressed to sigms.newsletter@gmail.com.
Michelle Cook and Cynthia Cassidy The Web 2.0 Tool for Tomorrow Preventing “illiteracy” for today’s 21st century learners can seem like a daunting task. Today’s teachers are overwhelmed by the pressures of high stakes testing and new initiatives; therefore, they don't often have the time or opportunity to visit the media center to integrate critical thinking, problem-based learning, and authentic tasks into the fundamentals of their curriculums. The question then becomes: how do media specialists help connect today’s learners to real-world problems so that they are not teaching skills and strategies in isolation?
unique Web 2.0 tool also teaches informational skills and netiquette in the context of real-world, content-driven problems. The SCAN tool brings the excitement back into the classroom as it helps foster higher levels of thinking, analyzing, clarifying, and
necessary for the future. SCAN is the perfect collaborative tool for media specialists and teachers to use to meet both the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learners and the Common Core Curricular Standards. With its foundation built on critical thinking, reading, and writing, the SCAN tool supports all content areas because it guides students through higher levels of thinking as they analyze and disAlvin Toffler cuss hot issues Science-fiction) (historical and current) from various perspectives. Because the tool follows the acronym SCAN (See the issues, Clarify the issues, Ask what’s important and Now what?), students are not only exploring topics from varying perspectives, but also working through a problem-solving approach that they can apply to other areas of learning.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Believe it or not, the solution to this dilemma is a lot easier than you may think. With the SCAN tool from TregoEd, students learn 21st century skills, critical thinking, and content all while being immersed in an interactive authentic task focused around essential questions. This
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problem-solving. But the best part is that teachers and students both love it and see its value! Meeting the Common Core (and the AASL Standards too!) With the SCAN tool, teachers and media specialists no longer have to choose between the fundamental curriculum and the applied skills
Creativity + SCAN = an Award-Winning Unit
Winners of the SIGMS 2011 Technology Innovation Award—Secondary Category The Web 2.0 Tool for Tomorrow We have watched teachers in our school meet the Common Core requirements to increase informational text reading and develop digital citizenship skills while using the SCAN tool in nearly every classroom. Language arts teachers use SCAN to teach voice and persuasive writing; Social Studies teachers utilize SCAN when teaching about major historical events and point of view. Science teachers use SCAN for collaboration and debate, and even our specialty teachers use SCAN for teaching character education and health. Thus, when we wanted to create a unit that was interactive, challenging, and fun for all, we knew that SCAN had to be at the center of our unit. Although we could have selected a ready-made lesson from the extensive SCAN library, we chose to develop a lesson of our own. Together we decided to challenge students to answer the question, “Who Owns History?”. Our unit incorporated a wide range of reading levels, provided scaffolded active reading experiences with informational
texts, and maintained highinterest by allowing students on all learning levels to make interdisciplinary connections. The resulting unit was the ISTE SIGMS Innovative Technology Award winner for 2010. This year, we’re taking SCAN to a new level by asking students to research and write their own SCAN lessons that incorporate media literacy. How Exactly Does SCAN Work?
Similar to Glogster, Voicethread, MovieMaker, PhotoStory and any number of other great Web 2.0 tools, SCAN provides a communication interface for students. However, what pushes SCAN above all of the other tools is that students do not use SCAN after the research or thinking is complete. SCAN embeds the content into the interface. Therefore, students are using the Facebook-like tool to read, research, discuss,
Students at Mount Olive Middle School in Budd Lake, New Jersey use SCAN.
Michelle Cook and Cynthia Cassidy The Web 2.0 Tool for Tomorrow debate and finally, to synthesize their ideas. SCAN provides the perfect blend of reading, researching, and reflection as students interact with tact. To get started using the tool, students enter a SCAN session by using a private URL generated by the program. Each SCAN session begins with a short scenario (selected from the SCAN library or written by the teacher) featuring a current or historical event as it is seen from several different perspectives. For example, the scenario “a Revolutionary Tea Party” includes the perspective of a Loyalist, a Tea Merchant, a Patriot, and Tea Party Participants. Once assigned one of these perspectives, students must read the scenario and conduct specific assigned research that correlates to their particular point of view. Once students have formed an opinion of the topic from their distinct point of view, they must then identify the key issues facing their assigned perspective. Once the key issues are identified and posted to the interface by the students, students are then
asked to read the opposing perspectives’ issues and write questions or comments. But don’t worry … students are never left totally on their own to comment freely. The classroom teacher or media specialist can quickly and easily review and alter any comments deemed not appropriate. Thus, in this controlled environment, students are guided in their use of “netiquette” while taking part in an interactive learning environment. The second step of the SCAN critical thinking strategy revolves around the need for students to clarify their ideas and assertion. This highly-engaging step gives voice to every student within the class as it reinforces writing and research skills. It is at this point that students have the opportunity to strengthen their positions with facts and knowledge gathered from their readings. This step also provides a wonderful opportunity for media specialists to embed the key skills of inserting quotations and citing sources while students are im-
mersed in “hands-on, mindson” activities. Do your students enjoy rating ideas from the least important to the most significant? Well if they do, then they will love the next step of the SCAN problem-solving strategy. The SCAN tool requires each student to rank all of their perspective’s issues by toggling high, medium or low on the “Ask what is important” step. The votes are then collated and students will find the results in the next step. In the final step, “Now What?,” students must synthesize all of the necessary information they have accumulated and then offer an alternative ending or solution to the problem. They must create a comprehensive action plan that solves the problem while also considering the opposing viewpoints and the questions raised during the SCAN process. This is the most rewarding stage for educators to watch unfold because students often come up with creative solutions to many real world problems while demonstrating their empathy and compassion. Whether they are using
Winners of the SIGMS 2011 Technology Innovation Award—Secondary Category The Web 2.0 Tool for Tomorrow SCAN in social studies to practice historical thinking as they examine the Scopes Trial, in science to discuss whether new genetically engineered bees should be released, or in health class to discuss what they think should be done in a bullying situation, they are able to create an action plan to address the problem. Ready to Give it a Shot? Are you ready to take your students to the next level of learning? Well, with only four easy steps, kids can be “SCANning” new horizons tomorrow. Let this unique web 2.0 tool transform your library/media center while encouraging 21st century literacy. And better yet, let this tool transform your teachercentered classroom of yesterday to a dynamic studentcentered learning environment of tomorrow. Your library/media center will be packed with eagerly typing students and recharged teachers.
The 2011 Innovation Award winning project in the Secondary Category: “Who Owns History?". Who owns history? This essential question was posed to 6th grade language arts students by media specialist Cynthia Cassidy and classroom teacher Michelle Cook. Ms. Cook and Ms. Cassidy used technology to build upon a recent social studies unit on ancient civilizations to develop "voice" and "point of view" in writing while also practicing active reading strategies with non-fiction. With these objectives in mind, the pair designed a web-based interactive unit requiring students to confront the question: "Who owns history?" To help students tackle this, they spotlighted the debate on whether ancient antiquities should be returned to Egypt. Serendipitously timed with the Egyptian revolution, Egyptian "voices" came alive as students took on the role of four different stakeholders involved in the issue. The teachers used a variety of online tools to build a weeklong project based around the SCAN tool, which is available at TregoED.org ($45 teacher subscription rate). SCAN incorporates critical thinking strategies in a Facebook-like interface. Each lesson allows students to role-play, discuss, clarify and develop a perspectivebased action plan. Ms. Cassidy and Ms. Cook created a SCAN lesson entitled Egyptian Artifacts: Finders, Keepers? The lesson, complete with links to various international articles and videos, was utilized with five different classes (136 students). The unit began with a class discussion of the essential question. After the discussion, the teachers motivated students by using an online link organizer at Livebinder.com to show news and video clips that introduced the various issues involved. The teachers also used the clips to review the writing trait of "voice" and "point of view." Students then visited five "reading centers" where they practiced their active reading strategies with non-fiction texts while completing graphic organizers on the SMART board. Once students had the necessary background knowledge, the teachers reviewed the rubric on "voice" and directed students to the media center where they worked with the SCAN tool. Once students created a screen name and picked an avatar, they had to select one point of view: U.S. archeologist, Director of Egyptian Antiquities, Egyptian citizen, or U.S. museum director. Students used reading strategies to review supplemental resources. Once empathetic to their perspective, students joined the interface where they communicated in the voice of their character. Students practiced civil discourse and true collaboration to develop a plan to address the issues. Following the SCAN sessions, students performed a self-assessment and reflection. To conclude, students used graphic organizers to synthesize the information gathered during the sessions and compose a persuasive essay written from their personal point of view.
Cathy Jo Nelson Teachers Hot for 1T@T The ISTE SIGMS group created a professional development series some time ago called One Tool at a Time: Build Your Toolbelt. It is a webinar that features an expert or practicing educator who walks through the use of a tool for novice users who want to learn. It is paced for true beginner teachers and librarians, and is perfect for those who can’t handle the rapid pace of the popular webinar programs like the Discovery Education Network Webinars or Teacher Librarian Cafe Webinars. I have joined in several looking if not for tips on an unfamiliar tool, then for ideas on teaching novices I work with about a specific tool, and for authentic examples of the tool in use. I never walk away disappointed in this webinar series. Last spring as I worked with a class, the teacher had one last assignment she wanted the kids to research, but it was close to exam time and she would not have time to
grade another research paper. She asked me to visit the class and give her kids some ideas of programs that perhaps they could use to present their research that she could assess as they presented in class. I worked to put together a wiki of links to various tools for the students to choose from, including tools like VoiceThread, Glogster, Wordle, Prezi, IMovie, and many more. The overview was done to briefly show students some options for demonstrating their research findings, and the students had the freedom to choose their vehicle for presenting to the class. After going over these options with the class, the teacher raved to her department how much she herself had personally learned just from the short exposure she had while I talked through or modeled some of the tools I showed the class. As we talked together later, she wanted to know how I had
learned about all the tools I had talked about. I told her my PLN daily exposed me to new ideas, innovations, newer technologies, and ideas for classroom application. She suggested I do some short staff developments for teachers, doing one tool at a time on different occasions. Having this conversation reminded me of the SIGMS One Tool at a Time Webinar series. In South Carolina, certified teachers on a continuing contract must annually set a professional goal to be evaluated with for what we call goalsbased evaluation. Taking a cue from my collaborating teacher’s conversation last spring, I submitted for my goal this year to provide staff development for teachers with the purpose of exposing them to new or interesting tools and their application in the classroom. “One Tool at a Time” is based on the same concept as the SIGMS webinar series; I focus on one tool and fully explain and model, show au-
Dorman High School, Spartanburg District 6 Roebuck, South Carolina cathyjonelson@gmail.com
Teachers Hot for 1T@T thentic examples of real classroom use, and then provide practice for my teachers. Since this was my GBE, I asked our administration if teachers could sign up to come to these sessions as their GBE. We agreed on keeping track of attendance and the kind of documentation these teachers would have to verify their participation, and we set to offer this opportunity as a GBE for faculty. The response was amazing. We even have many teachers who committed to other goals for their GBE also choosing to attend each session just for the information, ideas, and personal learning. We call our professional development sessions 1T@T and meet once a month during planning periods in an open lab. Teachers in my school are on a block schedule, so blocks last ninety minutes. The session consists of a twentyminute overview that includes modeling use, followed by ten or so minutes of examples.
The remaining time is left for hands on practice. Teachers are encouraged to stay and practice in the session so they can ask questions or get individualized help. Most of them have opted to go practice back in their own rooms, salvaging a little of the remaining planning period. About two weeks before the actual session, I begin advertising in our email, our teacher newsletter, and the library’s digital bulletin board, letting folks know the topic, time, and location. Often I have teaches come by to schedule a one-on-one session if they can’t make the group’s meeting. I am pleased to report that teachers are indeed using the tools that have been introduced! I have seen an increase in teachers collaborating on projects in the library, and the project rubrics included topics, points, ideas, and more that I covered in these sessions. By having these sessions. I am able to introduce
tools, model them, talk about their implementation in a classroom setting, and pull in information literacy elements at the same time (by talking about crediting sources, making an effective presentation, and using creative commons licensed materials, etc.) Best, the sessions are light, fun, and teachers are learning in a non threatening environment. They are seeing that the tools have the potential to engage their students, and as a byproduct, the teachers are learning too. Our next 1T@T is actually on PLNs and blogging. I’m looking forward to that session. I must thank the ISTE SIGMS group for the inspiration behind this professional development program (our GBE called One Tool at a Time). Without their leadership and program, I may have never had the idea to bring it to the school level.
Cathy Jo
Neil Krasnoff 'Apps' birther syndrome and Geek culture @ The Library Star Trek is practically synonymous with geekiness. Even if that iconic sci-fi series of 40+ years ago didn’t actually spawn today’s geek culture, the fans of Star Trek created the high tech world of today. A casual observer does not have to look too far to see the corollaries between vocabulary and concepts first mentioned on Star Trek, and our present reality of wireless technology where most of the functions of the Trekkers tricorder are now components or apps on today’s smart phones. Larry Paige and Sergey Brin, better known as the “Google Guys”, are prime examples of Trekkies turned technology titans. Well before Google became a verb and a worldwide tool in nearly every language, Larry and Sergey developed a Google search tool for Klingon, the language only spoken among the most ardent Star Trek geeks. To me this Klingon creation exemplifies Google’s radical openness along with a particularly quirky unashamedly
geeky outlook. It is something that libraries can capitalize on by highlighting the Sci-Fi genre and inspiring young adults to read, dream, and create apps. The current popularity of Android mobile operating system owes much to Google’s openness that allows anyone to design apps . Recently Google has made moves to make app programming more accessible to the masses with the release of Apps Inventor Beta, a Java based visual programming tool where amateur programmers can click and drag building blocks with code written on them to assemble working programs. If two bits of code do not work together, the blocks won’t
lock together. On top of that, Google also has a sequential array of increasingly complex tutorials that will allow anyone with a free hour or two to put together some fun apps while learning skills. After completing the first two tutorials in 90 minutes, I had two working apps on my smart phone. Previously, I had thought of myself as incapable of designing phone apps. Even though they were very simple, I was sufficiently proud to start showing off my creations to students. Reflecting on my own behavior, I realized I was on to something. Mobile apps programming belongs in the library program! Here is a summary of all the reasons:
Mobile apps combine creativity and computing in a new and exciting way
App programming promotes a form of logical strategic thinking
By learning apps development, librarians model life-long learning. Life-long learning s what
@txlibraryguy
'Apps' birther syndrome and Geek culture @ The Library libraries are all about
Mobile phones and apps are enchanting and fun. It’s easy to share, thus building discussion and community Designing mobile apps is an aspect of transliteracy, which means we teach students to be creators and participants in the connected world, not merely consumers
As a great admirer of Google, I naturally drift toward the Android platform. However, it should also be pointed out that Microsoft Windows also has a free visual Apps program interface that is easy to learn with a minimal amount of programming knowledge. The main advantage of Android over Windows is the ubiquity of the platform. With over 60 million Android phones in use at the present time, it is by far the largest and fastestgrowing mobile operating system. Apple iPhone is more popular than Windows, and more lucrative for entrepreneurs, but at the current time, learning apps development
for iPhone requires proficiency in programming languages and the barrier to entry for a non-programmer is considerable.
are my recommended steps:
Many readers may be familiar with Scratch from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is an education tool designed to teach learners of all ages the logic of programming video games. Presently, MIT is now partnered with Google on a similar effort to further the goal of encouraging Android App development an educational tool.
2. Show students your apps and empower them by saying, “If I can do it, you can do it.”
For those of us fortunate enough to work as 21st Century librarians, it behooves us to pay attention to the apps craze and encourage our students to develop what I call “Apps birther syndrome.” An Apps birther is the type of person that asks “is there an app for that?” It’s the kind of question that can lead one to be the next software millionaire! All librarians need to do is provide the encouragement and the creative environment to make apps happen. Here
1. Explore Apps Inventor tutorials yourself by installing the software and the Android emulator
3. Install app creation software on the library computers and advertise it 4. Foster the Apps birther culture by allowing students to play with their phones in the library and get involved in sharing knowledge and excitement about apps 5. Look for ways to promote science fiction to feed the minds of young futurists Most of all, have fun! Resources Google Apps Inventor Beta Tutorials http:// www.appinventorbeta.com/ learn/ Neil Krasnoff’s Apps in Education Scoop.it http://www.scoop.it/t/appscreation-in-education
Dr. Julia K. VanderMolen
Science Apps The iPad has found its way into hospitals, retail stores, and homes across the nation, but it’s also making a big splash in the classroom. With a great selection of apps focused on everything from word processing to keeping in touch with classmates, the iPad can be an invaluable tool for learning. However, sifting through all the apps listed in the education banner can be a lengthy process. This article lists a number of science apps for the K12 classroom. Some are versatile enough that they could be used across the curriculum. Best of all, these apps are free! Biology 1) Human Body Facts 1000 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ human-body-facts-1000/ id427485285?mt=8 Human Body Facts 1000 provides a ton of fun and unusual facts about the human body. Students can learn about the many wonderful functions and intricate organs of the human body. 2) HHMI Bulletin By Howard Hughes Medical Institute http://www.hhmi.org/bulletin/ ipad.html The HHMI Bulletin is a free science magazine app that offers science content presented in an in-depth and engaging storytelling format for the general audi-
ence. Teachers can download a new issue each quarter and learn about the innovative work of researchers and science educators. 3) 3D Brain http://www.g2conline.org/ 3D Brain provides 3D images of the human brain. This app walks a user through different areas of the brain, their functions, and common issues. This is a great tool for high school students taking an anatomy class. 4) Leafsnap for iPad http://leafsnap.com/ Leafsnap is the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves. 5) 3D Cell Simulation & Stain Tool http://www.invitrogen.com/site/ us/en/home.html 3D Cell Simulation and Stain Tool By Invitrogen Corporation is an app that aims to help students understand cells. The app includes an interactive 3D view that allows students to view the internal structure of a cell while using multi-touch. Chemistry and Earth Science 1) Periodic Table of Elements
http://user.gru.net/nemesis/ iphoneAppPages/ This application can be used to look up information on 117 different elements. This app provides the chemical symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, family name, classification, period, electron shell configuration, and the physical state under standard atmospheric pressure. 2) Google Earth http://www.google.com/mobile/ earth/ With the Google Earth app students can fly to every corner of the earth with a swipe of a finger. They can explore and adjust views to see mountainous terrain or search cities, places, and businesses around the globe. Students can view panoramic photos as well as borders, labels, and roads. 3) Lewis Dots http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ lewis-dots/id461557879?mt=8 This app is based on the molecular diagrams familiar to chemistry students in which elements are depicted as letter abbreviations, and electrons and bonds are dots and dashes. Students can drag periodic elements and electrons about the iPad touch screen to make and break bonds and assemble molecules. 4) K12 Periodic Table http://www.k12.com/mobile-apps
Department Coordinator-Science and Health (online) Assistant Professor-Health and Science Davenport University Grand Rapids MI 49512 julia.vandermolen@davenport.edu
Science Apps K12 Periodic Table lets a student explore the elements and their key attributes in a simple, easyto-use way. It’s a perfect reference for working through homework problems for science courses. General Science Reference 1) Video Science http://oeinc.com/ If you are working with younger children and want to find demonstrations and experiments that will excite them, then Video Science is the app for you. Video Science has over 50 videos demonstrating a wide variety of activities. Videos are 2 to 3 minutes in length and demonstrate the steps of simple science experiments. 2) Science Glossary http://www.visionlearning.com/ This app features an extensive library of scientific terms. Students can look up terms from A to Z. In addition, "Glossary" also contains short biographies of those who contributed heavily to the field of science, such as Charles Darwin and Marie Curie. This is a perfect app for those who need to brush up on their scientific terminology. 3) Science360 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ science360-for-ipad/ id439928181?mt=8 Science360 for iPad is a terrific
set of science-related videos from the National Science Foundation. Some of the videos derive from NBC Learn, others from independent producers receiving grants from the NSF. For a quick take on current science topics it’s a great, free resource. 4) PLos Reader http://portfolio.tombrow.com/ PLoS Reader for iPad allows a student to have access to the Public Library of Science’s most recent journal articles about biology, medicine, genetics, pathogens, and more. Space and Weather 1) GoSkyWatch Planetarium http://www.gosoftworks.com/ GoSkyWatch/GoSkyWatch.html Easily and quickly locate and identify stars, planets, constellations, and more with a touch of your finger on your iPad. Have fun with family and friends by exploring the night sky. 2) Planets http://www.qcontinuum.org/ planets/ Planets by Q Continuum is a 3D guide to the solar system for aspiring astronomers that uses current location to display a detailed view of sky. Students can look at 2D or 3D representations of the night sky. 3) Space Images for iPad http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/apps/ spaceimages/index.cfm
Space Images app by NASA offers a unique view of the sky via hundreds of images taken by spacecraft studying planets, stars, galaxies, weather on Earth, and more. Students can save backgrounds or wallpaper to share with friends on Facebook, Twitter, or by email. 4) The Weather Channel http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ the-weather-channel/ id295646461?mt=8 The Weather Channel app provides students with animated weather backgrounds for local conditions, an interactive spinning globe with the world’s weather and an in-motion radar map. Students can even follow The Weather Channel Twitter updates from Jim Cantori and other meteorologists Other sites with Science Apps Educational Apps For Kids: science. (2011). Educational Apps For Kids. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http:// www.smartappsforkids.c om/science Free Apps iApps for Teachers. (2011, May 1). iAppsForTeachers. Retrieved December 20, 2011, from www.iappsforteachers.co m/?cat=88
Elaine Lawrence and Ray Siegrist eReaders as Common Core Curricular Tools Electronic readers (eReaders) afford teachers the ability to assign text materials in a portable fashion. Students can easily transport materials for several classes in one convenient device. Most eReaders contain dictionaries and thesauruses to aid students in vocabulary development. Note taking tools allow users to generate notes connected to specific text. Thus, students can compose thoughts that arise while reading contentspecific text. These notes can be questions, arguments placed in context, and/or short narratives that demonstrate comprehension. Enhanced instruction occurs when teachers and library media specialists (LMS) collaborate to utilize text that covers more than one content area. This affords students the opportunity to make connections between the contents instead of separate works for each content area. Literature circle preparation can be done using the eReader. Students can read and do written-response notes on the eReader in preparation for group discussion. They can utilize electronic book marks to note ideas, questions, and vocabulary for discussion or the teacher and LMS can collaboratively create a worksheet – hard copy or elec-
tronic to be used on the eReader – that can be filled in as a more structured means of note preparation. One item on the worksheet might have students note any connections to other content areas (social studies, math, science, etc.). This promotes the idea that reading is not only for English (ELA) class. If there is access to multiple editions of text (school eReaders - possibly team up with libraries in school district communities as well) then students could read on eReader and complete literature circle preparation sheets on eReader to be downloaded by teacher/LMS and then handed off to another student and make literature circle notes that again are downloaded by teacher/LMS before handing the eReader to the next student. Another possibility might be to download the work and place it in a literature review compilation. Either way the teacher can see what individual students have highlighted, noted, etc. on the reading to help individualize instruction as well as note student progress toward discussion. Electronic readers can be used to foster students to work cooperatively in groups. Information can be placed on an electronic reader that is needed to com-
plete an activity and students in the group have to share its use. Students can agree to pass the reader among group members or each group member can read selected portions of the information. Either way, dialogue is promoted as group members explain their interpretation of what they have read and heard (either aloud or by entering notes into the eReader). Students, in general, have difficulty mining appropriate information from word problems. The LMS might suggest the middle school team explore using Jon Scieszka’s Math Curse as a means of demonstrating there are many examples of math in everyday life (not to mention injecting humor for those with math anxiety). This could be introduced as a literature circle reading in English and continue the process in math class with discussion focused on the math applications. Students can be directed to highlight what they deem essential to solving the problem. Pairs of students can exchange their electronic readers, discuss any disagreements and then, share their findings with the class. Students could use eReaders to learn how to convert word problems into algebraic equations by reading Henry Ernest Dudeney’s
Elaine Lawrence works with preservice teachers as a member of the SUNY Oneonta Division of Education faculty. Her primary focal points are social studies education and educational technology. Ray Siegrist works with preservice teachers as a member of the SUNY Oneonta Division of Education faculty. His primary focal point is mathematics education
eReaders as Common Core Curricular Tools Amusements in Mathematics (free download) and creating their own algebraic equations as solutions using the note taking application. For the student in need of extra help for how to create his/her own algebraic equations from word problems, introduce the reader to How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra by Mildred Johnson, Tim Johnson, Linus Johnson and Dean McRaine (available in electronic and hard copy formats). Electronic readers can be used to differentiate instruction. Gifted students can be challenged with problems that are more difficult. Students who need more assistance or who have been absent can be given an eReader with math problems that are solved including detailed explanations. Not every student has to receive the same problems, the same level of difficulty, or the same number of problems. For ESL learners or reluctant readers, the Text-toSpeech feature could be used to give assistance when reading about a concept. More ideas: (elementary) A Remainder of One by Elinor Pinczes and The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas combine math and ELA; (middle school) – The Breakfast Cereal Gourmet
[ebook] by David Hoffman combines ELA, social studies and math – geometry and measurement) as does Takayuki Ishii’s One Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako and the Children’s Peace Statue. These ideas and more can be found in Math and Nonfiction, Grades 6-8 by Jennifer Bay-Williams and Sherri Martinie. Another text for middle or high school is The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century David Salsburg which combines statistics, probability, and science. All these texts are available in hard copy and electronic format.
fiction, Grades 6-8. Sausalito:
Skills learned in ELA literature circles establish the skills to be used in the other areas. At the heart of common core is to incorporate text. The key to the task is to locate texts that incorporate two or more content areas. Collaboration between the LMS and content teachers is imperative to accomplish this. This approach also aids in alleviating the issue of students having too much homework – one text can be used simultaneously to cover several subjects.
Problems in Algebra. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Bibliography Bay-Williams, Jennifer, and Sherri Martinie. Math and Non-
Math Solutions, 2008. Dudeney, Henry Ernest. Amusements in Mathematics. CreateSpace, 2011. Hoffman, David. The Breakfast Cereal Gourmet. Kansas City: Andrews McKeel, 2005. Ishii, Takayuki. One Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako and the Children’s Peace Statue. New York: Random, 2001. Johnson, Mildred, Johnson, Tim, Johnson, Linus, & McRaine, Dean. How to Solve Word
Pappas, Theoni. The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat. San Carlos: World Wide/Tetra, 1997. Pinczes, Elinor. A Remainder of One. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Salsburg, David. The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century. New York: Holt, 2002. Scieszka, Jon. Math Curse. New York: Penguin, 1996.
Marisa Burkhart Nook adds Color to Recent Fiction Class During 8th hour at Huntley High School, you will find most students in a traditional class. But for thirty students in Blended Online Recent Fiction, you’ll find them just about anywhere, and typically, you’ll find them on their Nooks. In Blended Online Recent Fiction, students attend class two days a week, where lively in-class discussions take place. The rest of the course is online. Students are free to stay and read, use the library or other common areas in the school, or leave the building. In developing this course, one thing was certain. We wanted to explore the use of e-readers and digital communication. We looked at purchasing the Nook Color, Kindle (the Fire was not released yet) and a few other inexpensive e-readers. We immediately excluded the iPad because of cost. There were certainly pros and cons to each of the devices. What sold us on the Nook Color was the managed content service from Barnes and Noble, and their physical presence in our community. We purchased one Certified PreOwned Nook Color per student, and the students were allowed to check them out for the duration of the course. At the time we purchased the Nooks, we also purchased 5 nov-
els. When we received the Nooks, they were pre-registered with accounts that B&N created. All I had to do was sign the PO – no creating accounts, using giftcards, syncing, etc. that had become all too familiar from a recent iPad project. The whole process from purchasing them to handing them over to the students was very easy. More importantly, all the students had to do was connect to wifi and the novels we purchased were ready to read! The most time consuming part was unwrapping and barcoding them, which only took about an hour. Since then, we have added novels to the devices. The process is quite easy. I submit the purchase to B&N, and when it is processed, the books just sync when student devices connect to wifi. In addition to content that the district buys, students can also side load books, PDFs, and other documents, and with a fully functional webbrowser, many of our students found them to be a handy companion for all of their courses.
The library staff at Huntley High School helps troubleshoot any problems, although we have had few. One of the biggest problems we had is that if students don't keep the screens clean, the touch response can lag a bit. We are trying to develop a plan for purchasing more nooks for the library that are available for general checkout. Using the Barnes and Noble managed content services is convenient, but there are some im-
Director of Educational Technology Consolidated School District 158 650 Academic Drive, Algonquin, Illinois 60102 mburkhart@district158.org
Nook adds Color to Recent Fiction Class portant differences to be noted for those who are familiar with the Nook or use B&N online. You must purchase a minimum of 25 devices to be eligible for managed content. We were purchasing a class set, so this didn’t create a problem. Because Barnes and Noble is the manager of the Nooks, each one has its own account and you therefore must purchase one book per device. I found the time savings associated with managed content to be worth well more than this added cost of buying one book per de-
vice (instead of sharing one book with up to 6 devices). If students wanted to add their own content, they can side-load it, but you cannot access another Barnes and Noble account from the Nook: you can only access the account that was set up by B&N to manage it. Another reason we selected Barnes and Noble was their physical presence in our community. I had concerns about using Amazon, just because I knew that we’d be on our own purchasing content online with a credit card and creating the accounts ourselves. I love technology, but I love people, more! I appreciated having a contact person that understood our district’s goal. Because of their presence in our community, students could also take their nook into the store and get assistance, ask questions, or just enjoy the free wifi. The student feedback regarding the Nooks has been extremely positive. In a survey of our students, a majority of them reported that the Nook color is easy to use, they found
it more enjoyable to read, and that they felt more engaged in the class. We had 2 students opt out at the start of the Nook program and an additional 2 students that reported that after using the Nook, they still preferred reading paper novels. The instructor used a webbased course management system, Haiku Learning, to house the rest of the course content. Students could access their Haiku class from the nook or any other device they preferred. Comprehension activities, discussions and assessments took place online. The goal of this project was to gain some insight about using digital content with students. With a Nook and Haiku, we've been able to do quite a bit in terms of delivering content to students. In order to expand this program beyond this pilot phase, we are looking at ways to incorporate this device into other courses. We are excited about what is happening in our Blended Online Recent Fiction class and are happy with the great service and support we have received from our local Barnes and Noble store. We will continue to look for ways build upon this partnership, as it has proven to be fruitful for both of us!
ISTE SIGMS The Scanner Volume 3 Number 1