The Ideal

In working through the excellent list compiled by the committee for the American Association of School Librarians for their annual Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2013, the last selection under Curriculum Collaboration not yet reviewed here is 19Pencils.  This website addresses the following Standards for the 21st-Century Learner:

• 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community
• 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners
• 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess and
• 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

I have been wanting to explore this site ever since I read a review of it by Kelly Tenkely on her blog iLearn Technology. 

This free resource joins thousands of users worldwide in the sharing of educational support materials.  In accessing the home page front and center is a search bar.  Enter in keywords to see what content is available.  It's absolutely mind-boggling how many hits one receives.  For example when I entered in Caldecott there are 17,224 items listed.  This is certainly better than the 1,870,000 hits one receives using the same term when using Google.  

You can scroll through the first 20 results by moving the "dot" to the right shown by arrow 1.  In order to share (arrow 2) or add a resource to your class page (arrow 3) you must be logged in.

To create an account choose the Sign Up button in the upper right-hand section of the home page.  You need to enter in your first and last name, email address and a password.  You can also sign up using your Facebook account. 

Once you have an account and are signed in you can click the share icon on one of the results from your search.   This will to send an email with a short message and a link to the recipient.   When selecting the add to button you can place it in your favorites on your 19Pencils account dashboard or add it to your class page.

You can access your dashboard at any time by clicking on the My Dashboard button located in the upper right-hand corner of the web page.  At the My Dashboard page you have nine options from which to choose.  The first three are explained in the center section.

The Content tab allows you to search exactly as done on the home page, add a URL link to a website you already know (or add the Chrome extension to your tool bar for quickly adding websites to your class page when browsing), create and save a single hidden answer or multiple choice quiz which can be located on your class page and create games (this is a $3.00 a month subscription and is new to the site).

In the My Favorites section thumbnails of the saved items are shown.  These can be viewed, removed, edited (change the title of the item and its description) or added to your class page.  Quizzes and games can also be placed in this section.  

In order to best use the My School's Favorites you need to go to your account and make some changes.  You select your state, school district and building to view what others are using.  This is an excellent means of collaboration; keeping track of what others in your building are doing.

At the My Class Page section are thumbnails of your resources and a tab for quizzes you have created.  Your students can access an identical page via a unique URL as shown.  It is a secure way for them to see materials from any device with Internet.  

My Class is where each of your student names are added.  You enter in a first name and last name initial.  Each student will be assigned a password. (You see these by choosing Email Class List.) You are prompted to click OK to keep adding student names or go back to the My Students tab.  You can view the student's activity or delete them from the list.  The Class Activity tab reveals a graph of usage. 

Complete instructions on how to add assignments and notes are included with the My Assignments section.  My Account is where any changes to your password or other information can be maintained.  My Widgets allows you to copy and paste HTML code into your blog or website giving students and parents an easy link to the Class Page.  Invite a Friend gives you more than 350 ways to share 19Pencils with others.  

To see how it all works I decided to add some content.  When adding content by entering in a URL directly after choosing a title and description, it will go to your favorites.  By checking a box it will also go to your class page.  I added three items, a website and two PDF documents, two for students and one for teacher's only.

Here is a link to My Class Page.

This is yet another outstanding website selected by the AASL committee.  I give 19Pencils my highest recommendation for its depth and breadth of selections. To me the pluses, especially for elementary age students, are the secure environment, the ability for them to work at their own pace and being able to monitor the students' progress.  

Stay Current With The News

One of our most important and challenging tasks is making our students feel a part of the international community.  Despite all the connectivity afforded by technology, it seems distractions and commitments outside the school building and the lack of any information resources (including print materials) in numerous homes, weigh heavily in keeping our students from expanding their knowledge of world people and events.  This makes it all the more important to select the right print, non-print and virtual content to help them be the best possible members of society.

At the 2013 American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition, the American Association of School Librarians selected Youngzine under the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner category, Curriculum Collaboration, 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community, 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners, 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess and 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.  This website, free to use, provides a secure means for the presentation of current events in a variety of areas as well as a format for young users, their teachers and their parents to submit writing.  Comments made and articles submitted by all users are moderated by Youngzine. In their About section it is stated:


Our goal is to help parents and educators create a vibrant community of globally aware young citizens in an increasingly connected world.  Along with news stories written specifically with our young audience in mind, Youngzine strives to inform using fun trivia, compelling visuals and videos.

When first accessing the site in the upper right-hand corner users can read all about the site, what others have to say regarding what the site offers, provide feedback and login.  Below this along the top is a toolbar listing a map of the various pages, Home, World News, Science & Tech, Our Earth, Society & Arts, U Write, Play Zine, Classrooms and Search.  The remainder of the home page is a series of panels featuring:

• News Flash!
• This Week
• U Write
• Contests
• Videos
• Recent Comments
• Latest From Around The World (map pinpointing areas of interest)
• Icons for sharing via email, Facebook, Twitter and through a news feed

When each of the pages is opened, some of those original columns still remain with the addition of new items.  The largest central panel still scrolls through recent events of interest but focuses on the specific area selected.  The World News page has included a This Time In History feature.  A Did You Know? spot is added to the Science & Tech page.  Our Earth asks users about animal travel and travel in general.  You are invited to review various forms of media and suggest book recommendations on the Society & Arts page.  

The interactive options on the U Write invite participation on several different levels with some special items.  In the center a slide show highlights recent U Writes.  The number of comments made about each one is shown in parentheses. Off to the right side users can enter a chat area for children only plus submit jokes in their own words.

Three separate areas below this allow registered children to submit pictures, videos and art, writings and reviews.  In each box a question is asked and answered by clicking on it.  It tells you that Youngzine welcomes all forms of writing, images and video.  It asks parents and teachers who wish to submit to the site to use the Feedback form.  Keep in mind everything is moderated.

At Play Zine you can participate by reading comics or a daily Ripley's Believe It Or Not, watch videos, play games (more than 80) and select from the regular options shown on previous pages such as Recent Comments, Chatter, and Contests.  One extra box shows the usernames of those with the highest points and badges earned.  Points and badges can be earned by registered users for writing an article, taking quizzes, participating in contests, and reading, rating and commenting on recent articles.

The final tab, Classroom, is an educators' goldmine.  When you register at Youngzine as a teacher, each added class gets a special code.  You can follow individual student work at the site.  Each class gets their own blog so you and your students can exchange information.  Suggestions on how to use this feature are listed.  

There is a separate feature, Search Lesson Plans, which ties into the Curriki website.  Teaching options can be looked for by grade level, subject area, and type such as exercise, unit, lesson plan and games.  

The last choice on the right is for searching the site using a keyword.  Every page at the bottom gives users the chance to read more about Youngzine on their blog, in the FAQ, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.  The FAQ is very complete.  One important point is the content on Youngzine is updated once every two weeks.  

Here is a snapshot of the form needed to be completed by any age user.  Once a teacher is registered classes can be added.

With much talk by colleagues this past year and more recently who desire to bring blogging into their classrooms, Youngzine seems like a fantastic solution.  It offers a variety of combinations for use by students, teachers and parents.  This format connects students with one another inside and outside the walls of the classroom into educational communities on a global level.  I give a gold star to Youngzine and the AASL committee for their selection of this website.

Clip and zip

As they say a picture is worth a thousand words and the creators of clp.ly, Free Range Content, want people to exchange what they find online quickly and visually.  This web 2.0 application allows the user to "clip" what they find online by capturing a portion of the site.  You have the ability to position the image, resize it, change the background color and add a note before you zip it along via a host of social networks or by embedding it in an email, blog or web site. 

Clipped from: larryferlazzo.edublogs.org (share this clip)

This application also allows you to select a quote to post in an email, blog or web site once you have added their accelerator.

"This concluding volume in Collins's 'Hunger Games' trilogy accomplishes a rare feat, the last installment being the best yet, a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level. In short, there's something here for nearly every reader, all of it completely engrossing."

From http://clp.ly/11kpJ (share this quote)

There have been so many times when it is better to show a colleague or student the web site rather than just giving them a link.  This application is the answer to that wish.  The creators believe that it is a way to bridge content between producers and consumers.