We are SO excited to share some big news! You now have 24/7 access to our library via our new ebook collection on Overdrive. Overdrive offers a variety of popular titles in ebook and audio formats. Instead of having to go to the library to check out your favorite books, you can now click on the Overdrive link, sign in with your student ID number, and download up to three books to your devices. Books can be read through your browser or through the Kindle and Overdrive apps. The best part (besides feeding your middle-of-the-night-have-to-have-it-now book craving)? No more lost books!
You can even hold up to three titles if books are checked out. After the regular loan period has ended, your library books will be returned automatically.
To get started, go to Library Media Center-ebooks and ereaders-Overdrive. You can also directly access our Overdrive library by going to http://newlondonschools.lib.overdrive.com. Check out what we have available to you right now. More titles will be added in the fall. There are hundreds of great titles waiting to be checked out to you this summer. How many books can you read? Let us know what you think!
We are wrapping up our school year with one final green screen project. This time seventh graders showcased what they have been learning in Science about weather in creative videos where they had to play TV meteorologists and predict the weather in a region of their choice. Since seventh graders were already familiar with the apps Green Screen by DoInk and iMovie, I showed them a couple of other apps to smash into their final videos: Explain Everything and Skitch. With Explain Everything, students were able to pre-record background videos to use in their green screens. They were able to add images, mark them up, and record annotations. With Skitch, students were able to add text and annotations to their images. Check out some of their final products.
Fifth graders in Mr. Wegner's Social Studies classes have turned to Google Maps to showcase their learning. Using Google's My Maps, students pinned specific locations on a Google Map and then added descriptions, images, and videos for each location to create virtual tours of important landmarks and locations in early American history. If you are curious about some of the important details and places related to the American Revolution and the US Constitution, view these examples below. Click on each pin to read what our fifth graders have learned about each location and how it relates to that part of American history.
Sixth graders in Mrs. DeMoulin's Social Studies classes found a creative way to learn more about Ancient Greek philosophers: create their own videos using the green screen! After each group did its own independent research on a chosen Greek philosopher, the students wrote scripts and recorded their videos using the app Green Screen by Do Ink. Videos were then edited with iMovie and uploaded to YouTube for sharing. View some of their examples below to learn more about the great minds of Ancient Greece.
All Integrated Technology students had the opportunity to participate in New London's American Legion Auxiliary Unit digital poster contest. Students were asked by the organization to design a poster representing members of the American military. During Integrated Technology, students learned how to use Google Drawing to create their posters. Following discussions of copyright and legal use of images, students searched for appropriate rights-cleared images from various sources that promoted the American military, freedom, or patriotism. Once the posters were complete, submissions were judged by the local organization, and this week the winners were announced. The top three posters each received a cash prize. With so many fantastic entries, the organization could not stop with just three. In addition, seven posters were given an honorable mention. View all winning posters below. The top ten posters will also be displayed at local businesses in New London. Congratulations to all of our winners! We look forward to working with this wonderful organization again.
Everyday feels like Christmas in the library lately. We have been receiving packages almost daily with new tools, toys, and things with which we can tinker to add to our new Makerspace. Thanks to an Innovation Technology Mini-Grant from the School District of New London, we have been awarded funds to purchase some of the latest and greatest gadgets and technologies to help our students innovate, create, explore, and learn!
Today was the first day that we tried out our new Puzzlebox Orbit helicopter. This unique gadget flies by reading one's brain signals. After attaching the EEG headset, the user must concentrate on one specific mental task. When the appropriate attention level has been achieved, the helicopter flies. Our 6th graders were more than willing to test the Puzzlebox. Proving the strong brain capacity of this group, several students were able to make it fly. Check out our video to see it in action.
Our Little Bits kits are also new items that have been very popular with students during recesses. Little Bits give students the chance to create their own electronic circuits by snapping pieces together. To help students become familiar with how to create circuits, I printed out these Little Bits challenge cards. As an added incentive, any student who completes all 12 challenges will receive a prize. The students pictured below have already made it through challenge 10!
The library often looks like "Legoland" during recesses with students eager to build their own Lego creations using our giant tub of Legos. I love seeing what students are creating on their own! To help further the limits of students' Lego creations, we have added a few new tools to the Lego area in our Makerspace. First, we now have motors and remotes so that Lego creations can become mobile. Second, we added a Lego Fusion kit. Lego Fusion is a newer concept that combines the physical building of Legos with the virtual world. Once students build an item with the Lego Fusion kit, they can make it a part of a virtual world using an iPad app. Our library has added the Lego Fusion Town Master set which lets students construct a building, take a picture of it, and then add it to the Town Master iPad app. Their building becomes part of a virtual world that they then continue to construct. One of our 5th graders was eager to get started using this set today and began by creating his own building. We can't wait to see what happens when he begins building his virtual town.
You may have noticed that the iMac has moved from the back room to the main area in our library. Unity 3D software has been installed to give students the chance to create their own games and virtual worlds. In addition, we have a new tool called the Leap Motion that lets a user control the computer with his or her hands. I can't wait to see the Leap Motion combined with some Unity 3D creations! Can you think of the possibilities? In the picture below, you can see the Leap Motion at work- simply place your hands above the sensor and watch your computer go.
Finally, we have a few more gadgets to debut in the next coming weeks. These include Dot and Dash robots,Ozobots, and Touchboard which will make surfaces interactive. We cannot wait to see the innovation and creativity from our students as the library truly becomes a space to create, innovate, explore, and learn!
We had a chance to experiment with our green screens again. This time 7th graders in Mrs. Berglund's Social Studies classes used the green screens and the iPads to create video tours of the Asian countries that they researched. In their videos, they highlighted special features of each country such as local cuisine, recreation, land features, and famous people. Students used the iPads and the app Green Screen by Do Ink to record their videos. They edited all of their video clips together and added special finishing touches such as titles and background music using iMovie.
Want to take a tour of Asia? Watch our student videos below.
