Learning in the Lou

Have you ever made that statement before?  Maybe you started a sweet new project that had a million videos, tools and apps all in one.  You get to the end of it all and now are a bit lost on how to grade it? Enter our old friend the rubric. (click image to visit the site) Not all the rubrics will fit 100% to what you are doing but does anything really fit 100%  No way.  You always adjust what you are teaching from hour to hour based upon the need of the kids.

Do you ever wish you could take a trip to a particular location mentioned in the book you are reading? Click on the image above for the ride of your life! What is a Google Lit Trip? Example: I clicked 9-12 Then found the book The Kite Runner and clicked on the link. In the upper right corner of the page I downloaded the kmz file. Double click on the kmz file you downloaded and it opens Google Earth. Now the story is mapped out in Google Earth. On the right side of the Google Earth screen you can go chapter by chapter to follow the story in a way that is unlike anything most of us have ever done.

Here is the paper user manual that came with a new iPad and the Kindle Fire.  It is a small bit of paper with minimal writing on it. I find this pretty interesting.  Only a few years ago our devices would come with a small textbook that would describe how to use the new product.

I don't know about you but I am very excited about the holidays.  If you want some fun activities to use at home with your little ones, here are some great ideas. The Elf on the Shelf You can create your own "Elf Scrapbook." Or share your stories on Facebook to the Elf on the Shelf Page. Portable North Pole Personalized E-mail Video from Santa See Santa's Facebook Wall

What a fun app for cooking at home!  Has recipes, videos, and tutorials for great kid friendly recipes.  Try it out today.

These resources actually provide over 110 ideas for, and examples of, using Twitter in the classroom.  How are you using Twitter?

Here are a few things that I learned from twitter today. Facebook Helps the Unemployed Find Work I have heard a lot about how modern day job seekers are looking for employment using social media.  Here is some proof of that.  From the mashable site. Blogger Awards The Edublogger awards are coming up again soon.  I have used the award winners to seek new and interesting people to follow.  What they post usually leads to inspire me to grow in directions I did not know where possible.  This year I decided to step it up when I saw the edublogger nominees list was posted.  Take a look and see what these inspirational teachers have to blog about.   Hint: take a look at the left side of the screen to see the categories. FYI - I know some think that blog is a four letter word.  I promise these blogs can have a serious impact on your classroom.  Google Docs and Classroom Writing This post discusses using google docs for the digital wr...

A word of caution!  When watching these videos step beyond the video and really listen to what the message is.  There is some very deep learning opportunities for all of us in these online conference sessions. It is very difficult to remove yourself from the curriculum and just listen for the sake of listening.  What do I mean by that odd statement?  Don't judge the session by the title.  All of these sessions have bit of gold and wisdom within them.  It is easy to pass up a session because you do not see the immediate application.   Trust me and take a leap into a learning adventure unlike something most of us have experienced before. Who is with me?  Anyone?

Did you know the Lindbergh libraries have Nooks available for student check out? AND students can check out ebooks from the Lindbergh eLibrary! So awesome...check out the selection! Click here to visit the eLibrary.

Here are some refresher videos for those of you working on your Moodle course. Topic Bars Inserting Labels Link to a File or Video Embedding a Youtube Video to Moodle Enrolling a Student in Moodle For more Moodle videos, check out our YouTube channel. Link to Lindbergh Linc's YouTube Channel