Information Fluency Project

The link below will lead you to an abundant supply of resources on the topic of information fluency.

IMSA 21 Century Information Fluency Project
http://21cif.imsa.edu/
Registration required. Free.

Once registered, you can easily access the pdf files, applications (like the citation wizard), presentations, podcasts, tutorials, training modules, challenges, excellent site recommendations, and research on information fluency topics. A bonus is that the site is searchable which is very convenient if you get lost or want something specific.

Teachers and TLs will find lots of practical resources to help develop student competencies in working with digital information.

Google Co-op

If you have ever asked your students to use the internet to research a topic I think you will LOVE this! Marg Stimson has sent a link to Google Co-op which allows people to customize their own search engines.

Here's an example of a Media Literacy search engine Marg made: http://google.com/coop/cse?cx=012124055334567209852%3Ayjixojitcuu

Try searching with the search engine above with the key phrase "lesson plan". Clear and try it again with the keyword “Manitoba”. You’ll see that your search is restricted to a set of about a dozen Media Literacy sites that Marg pre-identified, giving you a manageable number of search results. This is not a filter, just a way to narrow the range of the search.

This is an excellent way to narrow searches for kids. Time spent narrowing the search for them will be time well spent! It does require a Gmail account which is very easy to set up but it is by invitation only. Only registered users of Gmail can send invitations. If you need an invitation, please let me know and I will send you one!

Holiday Resources

From Marg Stimson:

There is an updated Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah link list at https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://schlib.pbwiki.com/Recommended%2520Resources

Here's a sample section from that list that shows the ways to resources for all levels.

Teacher Planet: December Calendar
https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherplanet.com/calendar/
The calendar leads to some good resources for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,
Christmas, and Human Rights Day. Also, Snow and Ice links are available at https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/snowice.php
https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/kwanzaa.php
https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/hanukkah.php
https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/christmas.php

Yahoo Directory: Holidays and Observances
https://pembinatrails.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Holidays_and_Observances/
Links for every holiday you can imagine. This will lead you to many good sites and resources, such as the more than 890 sites for Christmas and over 100 sites for Hanukkah

Feel free to edit the Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or other of the lists at SCHLIB and share in any way that suits you, for any not-for-profit purpose.

Google Earth

We recently had Google Earth installed on every computer in the building. It can be a very powerful tool to use in our classrooms. Now we can view the Grand Canyon or Mount Everest in three dimensions, instead of 2D like other map programs/sites. It can also be tapped into when you need an atlas for a lesson. For example, in Grade 8 Math just a few weeks ago we used Google Earth to calculate the distance from Vancouver to Montreal for a math problem. It can give driving distances as well as "as the crow flies."

The site Google Earth Lessons provides information and tips to learn how to use Google Earth. Also, it's good to know that Google Earth is a free download if you would like to put it on your home computer.

Just One More Book

Marg Stimson has shared a site called Just One More Book where students can hear Canadian authors & illustrators like Sheree Fitch talk about their passion for writing, reading, or art.

If you download iTunes (as anyone with a computer can), it will track your subscription to this podcast.

Is Google the best search engine?

Google seems to be the most popular search engine going these days. I daresay that if you ask any of our students where they go to find information, they would say Google. I also watch time and time again students click on the first entry that comes up after a search, thinking it is the most relevant. What many people don't know is that Google's search technology operates on popularity, on how many people "link" to that particular page. So in other words, the sites move up and down the list according to how many links are coming in to the site. Order of the results often has little to do with relevance.

Ask.com (formerly also known as teoma.com or askjeeves.com), on the other hand, works the opposite way. Relevance and popularity are based on how many links are going out of each site. It is based on subject-specific popularity and in most cases Ask.com will give the more relevant results first.

Students just need to know that Google is not the only game in town and that there are other options. For more information check out this article in eSchool News Online.

Holiday Fun

I found this on The Shifted Librarian blogpost. It's a fun website that might add to your holiday planning and resources. Check out Create-A-Snowman. (This link came from teachers in Florida who have to "suffer" through 70 degree F winters.)