Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Facebook Manners - YouTube Video

Here's a fun Facebook "Manners" video on social network etiquette by tango.com. The Do's and Don'ts of online breakups. Ideal for Baby Boomer teachers, administrators, and parents.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Shmoop

English and Social Studies/History teachers should check out Shmoop (http://www.shmoop.com).

"Shmoop wants to make you a better lover (of literature, history, poetry and writing). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time. Our mission: To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age."

Shmoop content is written primarily by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale. Many of our writers have taught at the high school and college levels. We hold ourselves to the highest academic standards. We source our work (see the "Citations" tab in each history section, or in-line citation links throughout our literature and poetry content). Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop as a source in essays and papers.



Thursday, April 23, 2009

Contest - Guess New Name of PBwiki

From PB Wiki (the popular "Peanut Butter" Wiki folk:

Hi PBwiki Educators!

We have big news to share with you. If you're a longtime user of PBwiki, you probably noticed a few recent changes - a big price cut, an educator community site with training resources and new features designed just for your classroom.

Now we have even bigger news!

Next month PBwiki is changing its name! That's right, while we still make the same great easy-to-use product, our beloved Peanut Butter sandwich will be heading into retirement.

As a PBwiki user we want to give you a heads-up. Your wiki will remain exactly the same - with the same features and login information but your URL will automatically redirect to our new name. Learn more about why we're changing our name and what it means for your wiki.
And naturally, before we say good bye to our Peanut Butter Sandwich, we want to have some fun. Guess our new name, and we'll send you a soon-to-be vintage PBwiki t-shirt. In fact, you don't even have to guess correctly! We'll also give out PBwiki t-shirts to the most creative and interesting suggestions.

Stay tuned for more big announcements next month!

Kristine

Your PBwiki Team

PS: Remember to guess our new name and get a free vintage PBwiki tee-shirt!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

ANIMOTO for your (Library) CAUSE?

ANIMOTO is accepting applications from non-profits and community activists for its fancy, professional (fee-based) version to non-profits that have a special CAUSE to promote. Now organizations can use Animoto to promote their cause online by posting and sharing videos on websites, YouTube and social networks. Animoto for a Cause launched with partners including American Cancer Society, Save Darfur, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and Teach for America.

Check out Animoto for a fun, and easy-to use tool for promoting libraries, literacy, and librarians. This is a good tool for promoting (or having students promote) strong school libraries, including equitable access to library resources.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

YouTube.EDU -- Research B4 Applying to College

YouTube now has an "edu" section for college and university videos and channels. Search by topic, directory, most subscribed, most viewed. Lots of videos on commencement, on promoting the campus or welcoming students, lectures, and special events. UCBerkeley, Stanford, CSU Sonoma State, UCDavis, and UCLA each have hundreds of videos. The number and quality will continue to grow.

High School students and their parents may want to check out this site when doing research on colleges or planning campus visits.