Need Images for Your LiveBinder?...Top 5 Sources

(Photo Credit: JDurham)


Images are a necessity for message making and message taking...Here is what I gathered for you:

Blog Posts on Image Sources

1) Five Great Sources for Free Images

2)32 Places to Find Images to Use Online


LiveBinder Examples
1) Copy of Free Stock Images

2)Free Images

3)Image and Image Tools

4) Kid-Friendly Image Search

5) Project One: Digital Images

There is plenty here to get you started. Let me know if you have another great source for pictures...

Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition
Building a Textbook From Scratch...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder
5 Tips for Starting Your Own LiveBinder
Need Videos for Your LiveBinder...Top 5 Sources

Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Building a LiveBinder...Brick by Brick

Do you remember last year when you borrowed "stuff" from another teacher. Usually it involved the digging out of a teacher closet, sifting through an entire filing cabinet and then waiting for everyone to go home so you could photocopy without glares.....

Well...No More!!!

Is it a bird, a plane...no it's LiveBinders

So in a sense... instead of stalking the teachers at your school and feeling all sheepish and needy, you can peruse what already exists and build your own "monster" resource without the guilt, constant photocopying and the smell of mildew. (That was all in one sentence. Is that even legal?)

My first year of teaching, I borrowed "grade one" boxes from my friend. So it is a given that just like making bread there is always a starter loaf.

So when I decided to create a LiveBinder, I looked for my "starter loaves"...places to collect information and to "Make it my own"...something that Paula Abdul might say. Whoa Lit Maven! How do you come up with this stuff?

In my current role, I have a recurring request to talk about Guided Reading. Personally, I don't think it is difficult but for some reason it strikes the fear in the hearts of many teachers...

What I Found
I looked up Guided Reading in the general search and found 11 binders. LiveBinders' searches, return binders from the most viewed to the least. Some binders came back from the search and were not complete. But the best part, I searched from home and did not have to politely turn down anyone's "stuff".

LiveBinders that Provided Some "Bricks"

As I looked through each binder I thought:

*What do I notice?
*How does this relate to the criteria I have set?


1. Mrs. Lash's Leveled Library and Resources by Audrey Lash
Tabs Organized by reading levels A to Z.
When you click on a tab, leveled book lists are revealed, AND the sub tabs reveal resources on the Internet that can be used my teachers or students to support their learning.
Amazing amount of work! Great for students and use in the computer lab or shared with parents at home.

2. HHES Fifth Grade Reading
Tabs are labeled Teacher Resources and then books organized by Lexile.
The teacher resources have sub tabs for supporting teachers, students and parents.
The book levels have lesson plans provided for each book.
Besides the templates, I appreciated the parent information.
These resources are more like a collection of paper documents.

3. Communication Arts Resources by Klista Reynolds
Specifically I looked at the tabs are labeled, Guided Reading Resources. However the other tabs provided me with interesting ideas to use in the future. This binder was also geared for higher grades.

4. Guided Reading/Reading Recovery Resources
This LiveBinder was organized by components surrounding guided reading as well as the actual instruction. Definitely a great spot to collect ideas.

5. Balanced Literacy
Incomplete but I liked where it was heading. It complimented what I was thinking.

So what is your topic?
Have you found your starter loaves?

Let me know how it is going!

Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition
Building a Textbook From Scratch...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder
5 Tips for Starting Your Own LiveBinder
Need Videos for Your LiveBinder...Top 5 Sources
Need Images for Your LiveBinder...Top 5 Sources

Hey did you know Keanu Reeves was in a Paula Abdul Movie? No?...Well now you do!
Enjoy!



Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Using LiveBinder to Create a PLN

I picked up this Tweet yesterday.

Using LiveBinder to Create a PLN by Matthew Brewer

Which of course, excited me... because it was about using LiveBinder...my new favorite thing.


I think this serves as an important addition to the conversation on creating and/or organizing content for your classroom.

This is what I think this LiveBinder can be used for:

* Inspire teachers to use Twitter
* Inspire teachers to create their PLN using Twitter
* Inspire teachers to share this with their staffs
* Inspire teachers to share this with their students....
OR
* Inspire teachers to create their own LiveBinder!

Is it just me...or is content creation just...better than sliced bread! Just some FOOD for thought...(How do you think these things up...Lit Maven?)

Here are some Summer Songs...for those of you wishing you still had summer or those that are hanging on to summer for dear life...


Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition
Building a Textbook From Scratch...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder
5 Tips for Starting Your Own LiveBinder




Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Further Posts on this topic

Don't Fast Forward....Start the Movie Where You Want To

Here is the bonus post for today. Yesterday I shared video sources on the net. Sometimes...it is just a part of the video you want. So here is a link to a tool that let's you choose where to start your video and save that link instead.

The link is called, "YouTube Time




Enjoy!
Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Need Videos for Your LiveBinder?...TOP 5 Places to Find Them!

Cartoon credit: anneelicious.wordpress.com


So, you have decided to create your own LiveBinder. After going through all the "dead" binders in my home office I can see the value of a "virtual" shelf...
But where do you get videos for your students.

Have no fear...The Lit Maven is here!

1. WatchKnow
Sliding filter, feature to find age appropriate videos (3 to 18+) and a broad directory as seen here:


2. EduTube
A vast array of educational videos. You can search by:
*Category
*Video Type
*Video Length
*Educational Level

3. YouTube
Videos that might not be on Edutube. The biggest directory of videos, that I know, out there.

4. Khan Academy
Math and Science focus...all ages. Check out the TED talk on the home page...very inspiring!

5. Brightstorm
Math and Science focus...middle to high school. Thanks to Brandon for letting me know about that one!

"They have a textbook browsing feature in which they have mapped popular school textbooks to the videos on their site, so essentially as the teacher is going through the book, there are videos that directly correlate with whatever lesson he or she is teaching. also in beta testing right now, they have a 'maps' feature in which both teachers and students can create playlists of however videos they want in any order they want, so they can have their own personalized lesson plan. it's like flipping the classroom... students can watch the videos at home and then teachers can run experiments, show other videos, have discussions in class. and it's all up to the teacher's discretion because she can customize her lesson plan. pretty neat, i think, and she can also share her map with other teachers across the country." -Brandon

WATCH FOR THE BONUS POST TOMORROW

Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition
Building a Textbook From Scratch...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder
5 Tips for Starting Your Own LiveBinder


But until then...Here is the video that helped the LitMaven learn her numbers:



Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

5 Tips to Starting Your Own LiveBinder

I am in the midst of starting my own LiveBinder and of course... it is never easy to make a decision...so here are some tips to get you started.

1) Who is your audience?
*Students
*Teachers
*Parents
*Administrators
*A Mixture
Here is great example of a teacher audience:
Cape Fear Handbook

Note: The School not the Movie


2. What will the user access be?
*Public
*Private

3. What is the time frame for utilizing the LiveBinder?
*one day
*one week
*one month
*one semester
*one year

4. What are you going to include?
*PDFs
*Audio
*Video
*Images
*Links

5. What type of online access will you have?
*Computer Lab
*Wireless
*Classroom Connections

Love this Grade One example!
Access at school and at home.

So this should at least get you thinking...

Here is a BONUS TIP: Look through the other binders, this is a collaborative exercise after all.

Perhaps even...Whistle While You Work


Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition
Building a Textbook From Scratch...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder

As always let me know what you are thinking in the comment boxes below.


Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Building a Textbook From Scratch?...5 Reasons to Try LiveBinder

I have been stumbling across LiveBinders over the last while. The thought of a "Live" binder snapping at me with its rings, was disconcerting...see the above image.

But like all things, I don't understand. I investigated.

LiveBinder seems to be an ideal platform for creating a textbook from scratch.

Thankfully, there are amazing people out there such as Cybraryman, who have collected many LiveBinder tips in one location.

I like that! Thanks Cybraryman.

5 Reasons to Use LiveBinder

1. You can go PAPERLESS! Imagine all your resources in one location. First, there was one ring to rule them all...now there is one binder!

2. There are "Ready-Made" binders.

10 Online Tools to Kickstart the Year

Great for those who prefer to just "dip their toes" when trying out new "web" stuff.

3. Timely Educational Uses

LiveBinder suggests these uses:

School Computer Labs
Class Presentations
Class Assignments
Learning at Home
School Team Sports
Class Projects and Research

4. Easy Access

"Teachers place LiveBinders on desktops so kids don’t have to type addresses or get lost searching on the web. And they don't have to add a bookmark to every computer every time they have a new link to share - they can just update the livebinder.-LiveBinder"

5. It's Free!
Nuf...said!


Let me know how LiveBinder has worked for you. I plan to make one soon. Perhaps, it will change my life!

Other Posts on this Topic

Digital Textbooks...Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Digital Textbooks...It's a Matter of Definition

Until Next Time
Lit Maven Out!