American Legion Poster Contest Winners Announced

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.

1st place

 2nd place

 

3rd place

Honorable Mentions

Our Makerspace expands!

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!

Touring Asia with the Green Screen

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.

New Library Newsletter Posted

Here is our latest library newsletter.

Cyberbullying Skypes and Video Exchange with Nicaragua

Our global classroom has once again connected with another great partner school.  For our most recent project, Integrated Technology students collaborated with students from the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua, to discuss what they have been learning about cyberbullying.  Our collaboration began in February by meeting via Mystery Skype.  After guessing one another's respective locations, students had the chance to ask a few questions and get to know one another.

Then, students worked in small groups at both schools to create anti-cyberbullying public service announcements.  Using the app Touchcast, students created interactive videos that allowed for the inclusion of external weblinks, polls, and additional images.  Once completed, the videos were uploaded to the Touchcast website and shared with our partner school.  We have to admit that we were a little jealous of the beautiful weather that we observed in the Nicaragua students' videos!  Check out some of our completed Touchcast videos below.






Finally, we met once again via small group Skypes.  Integrated Technology students worked in groups of two or three to talk with one student from Nicaragua using the Skype app on the iPads.  Students carried on conversations about what they learned about cyberbullying and shared their personal experiences.  The students in Nicaragua also gave New London students helpful tips about using Touchcast. 

We learned that cyberbullying is a concern all over the world, not just in the United States.  We loved our chance to collaborate with this great group of students from Nicaragua!  

A World Read Aloud Day full of Connected Literacy

World Read Aloud Day has now become one of my favorite annual celebrations.  Celebrated on the first Wednesday of March, World Read Aloud Day brings awareness to the importance of global literacy.  It is also a day when worldwide classrooms work to connect globally with other reading partners and authors who dedicate their time to promoting this cause.  At NLMSIS, World Read Aloud Day was a huge celebration with almost back-to-back Skype sessions scheduled throughout the day for all students. 

Our World Read Aloud Day celebration actually began earlier in the week when we invited authors Dee Garretson, author of Wildfire Run and Wolf Storm, and Chris Tozier, author of the Olivia Brophie series, to Skype with us.  Each began by telling our 5th and 6th grade students a little about themselves and then answering student questions.  Students loved learning more about the writing process, adventure fiction, and in Chris's case, more about bugs, one of his interests!  These Skype sessions were a great kick off to our week.

Our official World Read Aloud Day festivities kicked off on March 4 with a very exciting Skype call with Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys and the newly released Fish in a Tree.  This was an extra special visit due to the fact that in the fall all of our 6th graders heard One for the Murphys read aloud in their Language Arts classes as part of the Global Read Aloud project.  They were so excited to ask Lynda their remaining burning questions.  We made use of Skype's group calling feature so that our six classrooms of students could remain with their teachers and still participate at the same time.

Our next Skype call was with Newbery Honor author Margi Preus.  Two classrooms of 5th graders learned more about her Heart of a Samarai and West of the Moon.  They were especially intrigued to learn more about her upcoming book Enchantment Lake, a mystery set in the northwoods, an area in which most of our students are very familiar.

Skype number three began shortly after when we met Laura Marx Fitzgerald, author of Under the Egg.  She began by reading aloud the first chapter of her book, igniting our students' curiosity about this art mystery.  Many of Mrs. Pritchard's students were armed with questions about the book itself since that is currently her classroom read aloud.

Our fourth and fifth Skypes were with one generous author who volunteered to Skype twice with us to accommodate two different classes.  Sarah Aronson began her session by reading aloud from Beyond Lucky.  She did not, though, begin reading at chapter one.  Her read aloud started at chapter two, the first part of the book that she actually wrote.  Students then had many, many questions for her about soccer, writing, her inspirations, and what she likes to do in her spare time.

Skype number six mixed our day up a bit with a read aloud from Mrs. Ornburn's class in Rhode Island.  Her students began by reading aloud McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss.  Then, the 7th hour Integrated Technology students prepared a class reading of Jarett Krosoczka's Punk Farm.  Afterwards, we each had time to talk about our respective cities and schools and ask one another some questions.  After hearing about their weather forecast, we felt very lucky not to live on the East Coast!

Our day concluded with a Skype call from author Danette Vigilante, writer of The Trouble With Half a Moon.  She read aloud an excerpt from her book and then opened it up to our 8th graders' questions.  She was even gracious enough to show us the view from her hotel room.  We so appreciated her taking a break from her sunny Orlando, Florida vacation to celebrate with us!

Overall, it was an amazing day.  We are so grateful for the opportunities that these authors provided and to Lit World and Skype in the Classroom for helping to organize such wonderful connections.  We look forward to two more upcoming author Skypes taking place tomorrow and next week from Django Wexler and Lee Edward Fodi.

Battle of the Books 2015

Last week, four very smart 5th graders represented our school in WEMTA's statewide Battle of the Books competition.  NLMSIS's team competed against many other teams from across the state in a friendly online competition that asked various questions about 20 required books.  Our school's team read hungrily over parts of the fall and winter to learn as much as they could about each of the books listed before the big competition day.  Congratulations to our school's representatives and to all of the students who participated in the program this year.  They are already looking forward to next year!