Live Binders! J.K. Rowling says YES!

Well, maybe...

We all know about the Hogwarts' textbooks...ahem...Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Here's the thing...back in the 2014 I blogged all the time about LiveBinders. These are, if you didn't know, digital binders...just like real binders...without the ring pinches!

I just went back to mine and discovered something pretty cool.

If you click the square along the top left side of the banner, the binder outline appears.

And here is where it gets exciting...

Really? Lit Maven?

Yes!

If you were to write a nonfiction book, you would be collecting research.  If you built a LiveBinder to collect your research, naturally adjusting tabs (left to right) and ordering subtabs (left to right) in the end you would have your desired structure. This may be obvious..or not. But what I love is that when you click on the outline view, the outline of the LiveBinder is completely revealed, in a very obvious way...the order of chapters for your book. In addition you can see where things might be out of order or need more research.

Cool! Lit Maven?

Right!!

I know it's not a huge deal but for me it is the little things. If I go back to visit all of my LiveBinders, the outlines reveal something new to me and help to focus my thinking.

Although, I have not made a LiveBinder in awhile, I'm back now! And there have been changes.

One of the new changes, as you know my journey is Google right now...it is suggested that you can now send your Live Binder link into a Google Classroom. This has huge implications for teaching, especially if a digital textbook is something that you wanted to build.

J.K. might like this idea for a new class at Hogwarts...or not...but here it is for you.

Well, that's enough info to blow your mind today....

Until Next Time,

The Lit Maven!

Home is Where the Start Is!

Last week, in the staff room...or as they call it on TV...the Teacher's Lounge..this conversation happened.

Co-worker: Who uses Google Sheets? I can't find a use for it.

Me: I use it at home to organize my library.

Then I paused, how much of my nerdiness should be shared at work?

Now to the point, I am sharing this story with you as it relates to my belief in trying most new things.

When trying something new, try it with content that you already know and love. 

Why? 

Because when you are learning something new, it takes a lot of focus and energy. If you are working with new content and new tools, it can be overwhelming.

I know my books. I love my books. I have this unhealthy need to purchase many books. Thus the need for a tool to organize my books. 

I looked at Google Sheets and thought, yes, this will help me organize my books. I created a spreadsheet with sections for author (first and last name) - title and genre to describe the book.Here are my genre selections....

Creativity-Entrepreneurship-Fiction Tips-Non Fiction-Productivity-Publishing-Revision-Social Media-Spirituality-Word Play-Writer's Life-Writing Exercises-Oversize.

So using this love of books and combining it with a new tool, Google Sheets, I could focus on the tool because I knew the content and thus I was not overwhelmed by the process.

So the learning here is...before trying these tools at school, try them at home.  

What could YOU do with Google Sheets?

Until Next Time, 

The Lit Maven

Getting Your Feet Wet with Google Apps for Education

Getting your feet wet means to edge slowly into something. It means that you are playing with the possibilities.

I was introduced to Google docs, spreadsheets, slides, classroom and calendar last fall. It might have been earlier. But like all things new it's hard to remember exactly when, unless of course you are keeping a Google journal.  Which now, I am.

Blogger, I have known since 2010 and Gmail a bit later. Both feel like second skin. How do you get to that feeling with anything.? Well you try it out...casually. It's like you are saying, "Hey, you...just going try this...don't be alarmed...just playing." When you act casually, whatever goes, goes. The need to be the expert goes out the door. It's like using crayons to color a place mat at a restaurant. You aren't coloring to create a masterpiece, no you are just trying it out. Something magical might happen, something might not. You are not tied to the outcome. It takes the pressure off and the inner critic stays locked away.

One of my first experiments was Google docs. Two things I love are the anytime, anywhere possibilities of Google docs. Back in the day, as a Language Arts consultant, even just a 10 years ago, I had to carry my presentation in a wheeled cart.  I needed a laptop, extension cord, speakers, projector, back up projector, paper handouts...the works!

Now...I need a link. A link...a digital link to the documents, to the presentation. No cart. I don't even need a bag, not even a tiny bag. Well, there are the books. But that is whole other post.

TRY it out at home!
Something simple I have tried this holiday season is to keep an Xmas present list on Google Docs. I have used it on my iPhone and on all my other devices to add a keep track of purchases. Updating the list, even as I leave the store. I have liked that is synced everywhere, on all my devices, unlike notes.
Also, it is not a cumbersome piece of paper that I need to remember to bring.

TRY it out at work!
As a learning coach, I used to create a schedule in word and then send it out as an attachment. Now, I create a schedule that teachers fill up. It is a collaborative. The link is live, no need for updates. This has saved so much time.

So that is it, a little bit of my journey. The message I am trying to get across is to try a Google app with something that you already do. Ask yourself, does it improve your lifestyle? Save time or increase access to information. If so, repeat...if not...try again.

Let me know how it goes...

Yours truly,

The Lit Maven

I Am Back!!!

Yes, it has been a few years. I have been off doing other things.

Now though, I am a Google Ninja! This means that I am in the process of earning my Level One and Level Two Google Certification. I will be using this blog to share my journey.

So many years ago...I was the Lit Maven and in so many ways I still am.  My journey includes a change from a district Language Arts Consultant to a Learning Coach to a Learning Coach/Junior High Art Teacher...in a brand new Pre K to grade 9 school.

Pop culture is still very much who I am. I have ventured into watching Stranger Things and Riverdale. Now that my daughter is a teenager we enjoy these shows together.

So...stay tuned as the Lit Maven begins to share more...literacy, technology, pop culture...OH MY!

Yours Truly,

The Lit Maven

The Lit Maven is Putting on Her Big Girl Pants!

So the Lit Maven is moving over to a new domain...

www.brandijclark.com

Please come visit me over there!

Part Five: Twitter for Educators...Organizing Your Tweets

This is the Fifth post in the twitter series...Twitter for Educators: The Only Guide You Will Need. Please see the end of this post for the series' links.

Last time we talked about adding hashtags to make your tweets easier to find. You search for a hashtag(#) in the twitter search feature, as identified by the magnifying glass. 

You can find a number of posts related to that hashtag. For example #oilers:

This is a great browsing feature but it becomes time consuming to check all your hashtags this way. There is actually another way to view and save hashtags. I use Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a third party application that can used to organize your hashtags into their own columns or as Hootsuite refers to them as streams. 

Here is a screenshot of  three of my streams on my ipad.

The Benefits of Streams

1. Streams make it easier to participate in "chats". (I will blog about this next)
2. Streams function as curator for likeminded conversations. Grouping conversations by hashtags into streams gives you a chance to see the big picture of what people are talking about over time.
3. Streams help to keep you informed about what is going on in your city. I set up streams to follow the city I am in #yeg, the traffic in my city #yegtraffic and what is going on in my school district #ecsd.
4. Streams add to your professional development. I have set up streams to follow conferences that I am attending  #ira2013 and not attending #ira2014. 
4. I set up streams that are aligned with my interests such as #writing or #nanowrimo.

Here is a helpful video to get you started.


Other Posts in the Series
Part 1: Getting Started With Twitter
Part 2: Responding To Your Twitter Feed
Part 3: Composing a Tweet
Part 4: Using Hashtags

Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!

Stop the Presses! You Can't Make a Living Writing!...Katy Perry Disagrees

The Lit Maven has been learning up a storm! But better than that, she has been earning her Great Work MBA.

The most amazing online conference ever! Hosted by Michael Bungay-Stanier, it is for anyone who wants to do Great Work.

What is great work?


I am encouraged that I am approaching the great work of my life. Recently I heard back about an article I submitted.

I am a contender!

I will let you know how that pans out in January.

I have proof I am approaching Great Work! I announced to a colleague about my plans to pursue writing as a serious possibility.

This was the face I got.

and the response:

"YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY DOING THAT!"
(Note: All writers in the world are screaming...it's not about the money!)

Was the Lit Maven crushed? 

NO!

Lit Maven ...seriously?

No! I am serious. Instead, I was thinking yes!  I must be on the right path for me. 

My friend doesn't get it. 

But her response to me, made me want to try even harder. Why? Because my journey is towards Great Work, and writing is a huge part of that.

Jonathan Acuff addresses family and friends in his book Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters 

"How can we carry dreams in our heart for years, maybe even decades, and then expect our friends and family members to understand them perfectly? They won't. Don't be surprised by that. Don't be devastated by that. Don't think it's because you've failed to explain it the right way. There's going to be some degree of disconnect. It's your dream, not theirs. Give them the gift of patience. Give them time to understand your dream." (p. 181)

Until then, consider signing up for your Great Work MBA.

Katy Perry?  Lit Maven?

Oh yes...My new theme song of course.

I am ready to Roar...how 'bout you?



Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!