Presenting Prezi

The American Association of School Librarians, a branch of the American Librarian Association, in the Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning 2010 selected under Media Sharing, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, the web 2.0 application, Prezi.

Per the website, Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides.  The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas and the connections between them.  The result:  visually captivating presentations that lead your audience down a path of discovery.


For educators there is a free account, Edu Enjoy, that offers 500MB of presentation storage space. This account allows users to:  create, show and share Prezis, download finished Prezis so you can present offline, choose if a Prezi is private, published, or shared with selected individuals and instead of the Prezi logo one of your choosing may be used.  To sign up enter in your school email address, school name, city, country and website address.  When you receive a confirmation email you are required to give your first and last name and create a password.

To begin designing your Prezi enter in a title and description.  Then click on the box in the lower left hand corner---New Prezi.

Because I am registered as an educator a series of six templates appeared on the next screen.  Being a new user I was tempted to choose one other than the blank template but I was in an adventuresome mood so I clicked on the blank template.  (You need to double click for a template to be selected.)

A short tutorial is offered on top of the working dashboard as you begin your first Prezi.  To begin click anywhere on the work space.  A text box is shown.

The text can be justified, bulleted and a color can be chosen.  The text can be as bold as a title, in italics as a title or as if it is within the body of a narration.  For additional options click on the completed text.  The Prezi wheel pops up.  This allows for font increase or decrease, word rotation, the reappearance of the text choices or deletion.  At any time the text can be moved by clicking and dragging.

In the upper left hand corner is another Prezi wheel. 
There are thirteen templates of font styles and color themes from which to chose.  A theme wizard is also included. Shapes, images from your computer or selected from a Google search, a YouTube video, 12 drawing templates and files can be inserted.  Four different frames can become part of your Prezi.

 When all is in position on your page add the paths.  Paths selected are shown at the bottom of the work space.  They can be deleted and by dragging the mouse around any portion of your Prezi can become a screen capture and an extra path.

On the far right hand of the screen are icons which allow you to navigate within the Prezi zooming in and out or going home.  At the top of the screen by clicking on meeting an online presentation can be started or invitations for editing can be sent.  To print save a Prezi in PDF format. 

At any time by pressing the play button in the lower right hand corner you can preview your work.  You can go forward, backward, to full screen or end. 

When you exit your work is saved and automatically goes to Private.  You can change it to be Public, publish on Prezi.com/explore so others can find it by searching or Public and allow copy, publish on Prezi.com so others can find it by searching and save a copy of it.

A saved Prezi can be edited, edited together, viewed together, downloaded, saved or deleted.  This is very simple to use but the results are fantastic.  It is understandable why this is a hit in the educational community.

A Prezi can be shared via a URL link or embedded using HTML code.

December Book Fair Success

Without the efforts of a group of dedicated parents the Book Fair at Charlevoix Elementary School would not have succeeded as it did. 

Heather Sape not only organized all the volunteers but she, her husband Mark and two of their daughters helped me set up the fair one evening, she worked one afternoon helping the younger students fill out wish lists, she worked one of the evenings during conferences and she helped with all the money management at the end.  She also popped in on some of the mornings to help with the before school crowd.  Wow!

Judy Jenkins-Herriman, Lori Ivester, Sharron Schwein, Denyse Illenden and Erin Nickel worked for several hours on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday helping our younger students complete their wish lists. 

I think that the take down of the Book Fair was done in record time, fifteen minutes, due to Shelly Paramo, Paul Schwenke, Mark Sape (and daughters), and Andrea Whitley.

I would also like to thank one of our super support staff members, Jane Kanine for working conference evenings, Thursday afternoon and before school on many days as well as assisting in the Book Fair take down.  Wow!

Thank you made with Smilebox

A New Take on the Alphabet

For nearly thirty years I have been collecting alphabet books.  I was particularly thrilled to see two new original titles talked about in A Bit of Abecedarianship Before Breakfast:  "Operation Alphabet" and Paul Thurlby,  a post at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast by blogger, Julie Danielson in October.  I recently acquired my own personal copy of Paul Thurlby's Alphabet by Paul Thurlby.

To begin I, much like Ian Falconer's Olivia, love the color red.  It seems to shout out loud, "Hey everyone, here I am.  Let's have some fun!"  All but seven of the letter illustrations have shades of red in the smallest detail or as large as a background or defining character.

The book jacket on this title unfolds to become a poster illuminating smaller versions of all the letters gathered in one spot for your viewing pleasure.  The front and back endpapers are a tiled repetitious mosaic of "A", "B" and "C".  The title page and Artist's note at the end are rendered on an aged-looking graph paper design replete with alphabetic doodles; possibly notes made by Thurlby as part of his design process.

While the format of this book is simple, an upper and lower case letter centered on the left page with " " for on the right side, the result is astoundingly clever.  Each letter graphically defines the featured word; "A" for Awesome!, "B" for Bounce, "C" for Catch...  Use of varied font styles for each word will delight appreciative readers as will his skill at adding those extra little touches.  In "Z" for Zip the Z is being unzipped but the "i" in zip is a zipper also. 

Another interesting note is Thurlby choice of words representing each of the letters.  While some are typical, "D" for Dog, "M" for Mountain others are more quirky, unusual, "E" for Embrace, "Q" for Quicksand.  He shows no partiality to parts of speech either; words are nouns, verbs, adjectives. 

Paul Thurlby's venture into the world of children's books began, as he states in his Artist's Note, as the result of a Christmas present, a book titled ABC3D, a paper sculpturing marvel by Marion Bataille. (Without shame I admit that I, too, own a copy of this book.) As he completed each letter he would post them online to bloggers' delight.  Great graphic design does not go without comment.  A literary agent noticed his letters and a book was born.

Thurlby further states in his note:  I use old books, postcards, and pieces of paper for the backgrounds.  I will often buy an old book just to use its back cover!  In gathering these pieces of time each illustration, digitally created, gives the readers the impression of gazing at vintage artwork fused with present playfulness.  Repeated readings will reveal new details or offer for discussion the possibility of what might be included.

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet is a refreshing perspective on those twenty-six letters which have given us so many amazing literary wonders.  Employing his expert workmanship in graphic design Paul Thurlby presents illustrations, each of which is, worthy of framing.  Lucky for us his web site linked above provides readers with the ability to purchase his book, prints and cards of his alphabet, a set of numbers and other delightful examples of his creativeness.

Twitterville Talk #26

The chorus on Twitter this past week came through loud and clear; loads of sweet tweets!

 

Bear Wants Hat Back; For More, See Kids Book headlines the reading by Daniel Pinkwater of I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen on NPR December 3, 2011.  The book is creating quite a buzz.

The Los Angeles Times posted an article, Young adult continues to be the literary world's fastest-growing genre.  Good writing brings in readers.

Two of the field's finest meet again; In conversation:  Neil Gaiman talks to Shaun Tan.

Highlighting the ground breaking title in 1962, The Snowy Day, is an article in The New York Times, Homage to a Picture-Book Rebel.

Macmillan to Mark 50th Anniversary of  "A Wrinkle in Time".  Time sure does fly.

Children's Bookshelf at Publishers Weekly supplied the above tweets.

Elizabeth Bird, librarian and blogger at School Library Journal with A Fuse #8 Production, has gone above and beyond yet again with SLJ Librarian Preview: Chronicle Books (Spring/Summer 2012).  I hate to wish my life away but some of these titles look outstanding.

SLJ's Top 10 2011:  Graphic Novels includes some of the finest titles of any genre of the year.  I see that I still have a couple to read.

Thanks to Julie Danielson blogger at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for the link to Jerry Pinkney and Erin E. Stead:  A Caldecott Conversion hosted by Travis Jonker at 100 Scope Notes.

Thanks to Library Journal for this noteworthy announcement--Goodreads Choice Awards Announced; Divergent Voted Favorite Book of 2011

This is an article worth reading about the Caldecott and Newbery awards at Publishers Weekly, And The Winner Is...

The Horn Book Fanfare:  Our Choices For The Best Books of 2011---Wow!

A tip of the hat to Richard Byrne at Free Technology For Teachers for his post on Social Media Revolution 2011. 

This Dog Has Its Day

Am I a dog lover?  Yes, true blue, through and through.  Would I have picked up A Dog Is A Dog if I were not a dog lover?  The answer to that question would be a resounding YES!  Who can resist a cheery, colorful cover sporting a wide-eyed grinning dog such as that created by debt author/illustrator Stephen Shaskan?

A dog is a dog,
whether it's naughty...
...or nice.

A story told in short rhyming phrases encourages audience participation as dog suns on the beach, glides on the ice, becomes skinny or fat but then wait...
it's a cat?!  What just happened?  A cat was zipped up inside a dog suit?

Okay, now readers are following the cat as it hisses, purrs, is hairless and cold or in furs, if it did or did not consume the pet goldfish but oh, no...there's that line again,

unless it's a...

You're kidding me, right?  Is something going to unzip a cat suit?  Let's go back.  What's the last word?  Hmmmm...did.  What rhymes with did?

Shaskan catches readers off guard having a squid come into view at the turn of the page following it's adventures and mishaps until, believe it or not, a lounging moose graces the next two page spread.  To viewers pleasure after the moose's escapades the smiling brown and white dog is the final installment in this peeling off of layers.

Stephen Shaskan is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.  It is amazing to note that all of his illustrations were digitally created; amazing because they give the appearance of wood block prints full of texture and detail.  A subdued lime green background layered with white daises is his introductory and closing endpapers.

Bold, vivid color combinations, brown and white dog, golden cat, purple squid, and a two-tone moose, heavily outlined grace a subtle gray wood grain background.  Hues of red, pink, gray, blue, golden yellow and green further liven these funny, frolicking characters.  While expressions are varied depending on the activity for the most part this is a happy, contented group. 

In the initial six pages that address the dog there is a flow created by the presence of the picket fence and dog house.  As each animal is introduced the pages dedicated to them perpetuate their particular setting throughout those pages.   Without a doubt humor is evident in the main storyline but it completely permeates each visual.  Shaskan illustrates the phrase...

A dog is a dog, if it's skinny or fat.

by having dog stand in front of a single picket of the fence paintbrush in hand as he completes a self portrait or by having dog laughingly roll slightly airborne as he holds an enormous balloon, surprised version of himself.  I believe that my favorite is moose leaping in the clear spotlighted by moose in the fog wearing a headlamp.  To be perfectly honest I absolutely love this entire book; every single page.

Spare, simple syncopated text infused with humor by the sheer absurdness of the tale accompanied by illustrations guaranteed to promote gales of laughter, places A Dog Is A Dog high up on the list of best books to share.  Stephen Shaskan reminds all who read his book that less is more; way more than you expect.  Hands down, this is delightful fare for the young and young at heart to be enjoyed repeatedly.

Please click on Stephen Shaskan's name at the top of this post to link to his outstanding web site containing numerous illustrations from this title as well as other bonus materials.  I'm thinking that I would like to see more of Dog in the future; actually anything by Stephen Shaskan. 

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer might be a good title to pair with this.

Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has posted an entertaining and informative interview with Stephen Shaskan.

The Power of Words

Back in the beginning of November, Kelly Tenkely educator and blogger at iLearn Technology posted about Word Dynamo.  This free site hosted by Dictionary.com, LLC is designed to shoot your vocabulary skyward.  It not only accomplishes this but does so in a manner that guarantees users will return; having fun while learning is the perfect combination for success.

At the Home page users can begin immediately by playing the Word Dynamo Challenge.  Initially users are asked to select the game level:  Elementary School (grades 1-5), Middle School (grades 6-8), High School (grades 9-12) and College & Beyond (grade 12+) by clicking on the play button beneath the heading.  That step can be skipped. 

With one word at a time ten words are shown to the player with four possible definitions.  For each correct answer a green star flashes on the screen as the definition is highlighted in green.  When an incorrect answer is given it is highlighted in red with the correct answer shown as well.  When a game is completed an estimate of how many words you know (Word Score) is shown along with your ranking at your game level.

Each time a game is concluded a user can proceed to the next level to increase their score or chose to save that score.  To save a score or unlock the next level you need to register by entering in your first name, email address, a password and the type of player you are (student, teacher, parent, etc.).  The benefits of registration in addition to saving your score are turning word lists into games and studying better with recommendations slanted to your personal needs.  Once a user has a Word Score, they can move on to the Word Challenge.  A Word Challenge is based upon the user's ability.

Users can browse through word lists (Word Dynamo Library) based upon standardized tests (ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, PSAT, SAT and TOEFL), subjects (arts, business and money, math, sports and recreation, religion and philosophy, science and technology and social science and history) and by language (French, Latin and Spanish).  The most popular word lists currently being used are listed under Zap! These word lists are running hot.

If a user wishes to alter the type of challenge, games such as matching terms with definitions (like the first challenge), listening to pronunciations, spelling out words or crossword puzzles are an option.  After selecting a word list not only can a user choose the type of quiz but a list of the words used in that quiz is given as is a quick study option.  Any quiz can be shared on a social network (a rather large list is available) or printed.  At the bottom of the screen related kits and lists are shown.

What gives Word Dynamo an edge is the ability of users to generate their own word lists.  It is a five step process:  enter in a descriptive title of the list, create a list of words and their definitions, tag your word list by using Word Dynamo Library headings, standardized test, grade level, languages or subject area, select a privacy setting (just me or everyone) and choose an image representative of the word list.

Once your list is saved it can be edited, printed, shared and played.  Additional quizzes are created for your list as is a quick study.  If a user has any questions a FAQ is provided as is a Quick Tour.

The temptation was too great; find a created list of my favorite sporting event of each year.

The answer, my friend...

The answer, my friend,

is blowin' in the wind

The answer is

blowin' in the wind

I was still in elementary school when singer, songwriter, poet, Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics in 1962 for his song, Blowin' In The Wind.  It was a year later when it appeared in his album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.  It seems as though that song has always been humming in the back of my mind; in the mind of American culture ready to spring forth when needed.

Using watercolor paints like a magician Jon J Muth breaths life into Dylan's lyrics for a younger audience in the title of the same name, Blowin' in the Wind (Sterling, November 1, 2011).  All the elements on the book's cover appear throughout the eloquent lavish illustrations spread across two pages.  Muted gray/white washed lines on front endpapers become trees in an autumn forest a single paper airplane floating through as our eyes move to the right.

A young boy in a striped shirt holding a large red ball gazes out a window at a paper airplane across from the title page.  We see him again on a road among many roads stretching to the horizon from a sparsely wooded slope watching that paper airplane as the first two lines of Dyan's song are read.

A wide expanse of sea and sky with a small red boat upon the water surround the small plane as it flies to the next pages.  Passengers in the boat are the boy in the striped shirt and an older girl. The next two pages show a hilltop with an old war cannon next to a small boy holding a red balloon and a young pig-tailed girl picking flowers as the small red boat drifts in the distance with the airplane tucked into a cloud-filled sky.  When the refrain appears on the fourth pictorial expanse all the children are in the boat, one pointing toward the airplane.

As each verse is read readers journey with the children following the flight of the paper airplane through mountainous Arctic waters, along a wall peopled with figures hands upraised as one drops down a guitar into the water, as the guitar is found, then as the guitar is broken and solace is offered by the boy with the ball and back up to the hillside where the cannon is now covered with flags from different nations.  With the final rendering of many paper airplanes seen against blue sky powder-puffed with clouds, the text of the last two lines is seen.  The closing endpapers show the children running along a shoreline at sunset following a white dove whose reflection in the water is the paper airplane.

Artist Jon J Muth has written a note at the book's end explaining his introduction to the song and why he chose to use the paper airplane throughout his interpretation.  His thoughts on the song's value are voiced in this note but readers have already seen those thoughts revealed in his illustrations.

Music historian and author of Mystery Train:  Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, Greil Marcus also leaves readers with a note.  Embedded in the front cover is a CD recording of the original lyrics sung by Bob Dylan.

Each title illustrated by the hand of Jon J Muth is to be savored to fully appreciate the stunning, visual representations held in our hands.