A-Z of Internet Tools and Techniques: Letter L

So here we are with Letter L of the tools and techniques which you can use to get the most out of the Internet.

L stands for….

Learning Objective

It is really important to think about what the purpose of using the technology is and how it will develop understanding.

Remember eLEARNING not Elearning!

Bibliography Scott, Elspeth. (2009). All kinds of e-verything. School Librarian. 57

Year 7 Information Literacy Programme: Christmas Fun

In the last IL session all 12 classes of Year 7 students learnt how to use the Subject Index, to look up keywords and find the corresponding Dewey Shelf Number.

 

During the last two weeks of term and in the build up to the Christmas Holidays I designed a Christmas ‘fun’ activity that allowed them to practice using these Subject Indexes.

 

I gave each student a Christmas picture (star, pudding, reindeer, etc) and they had to find the correct shelf number (star = 523, pudding = food = 641, reindeer = animal = 599, etc) then colour in their picture, cut it out and stick to their class Christmas Tree.

 

 

These trees are then hung up in the MRC and make great decorations. 

 

Each year this display reminds older students of how they can use the Subject Indexes. 

 

 

A prize is awarded to the class with the most correct Dewey numbers, best decorated tree and team work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Subject Index is available in an editable format from Carel Press it is called the “Find it Index”

 

Year 7 Information Literacy Programme: Subject Index

Continuing from the last IL session, which introduced all 12 classes of Year 7 students to Dewey Decimal Classification, I showed them the Subject Index.

 

I started with a brief recap by making use of the podcast I had previously created about the 10 main classes in the MRC.

 

 

 

 

 I then gave them a story which had some missing words (those naughty book worms again!). I demonstrated how I could look up the missing word in the Subject Index to find the “magic” or Dewey Shelf number. They then had to fill all the gaps using the Subject Index, learning their way around it as they did the activity.

 

The Subject Index is available in an editable format from Carel Press it is called the “Find it Index”

 

Year 7 Information Literacy Programme: DDC

I’ve been working with the Year 7 students to introduce them to Dewey Order, or DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification), as part of their Information Literacy Programme.

I started by telling them a silly story about Mr Dewey, his wife, and their big house which was full of books. obviously when his wife couldn’t find her favourite cookery book she set him the task of sorting all the books out to make it easier to find what you want.

The story explains how he organised all of knowledge into the 10 main subject areas and then gave them subject numbers. The students are then given a floor plan of his house and have to label each room with the main subject area, the main Dewey Shelf number and then run around the MRC shelves to find each subject area, note the colour on the spine labels and then finally colour in their floor plan.

It can be a bit hectic but at least it gives them more confidence and gets them moving around the MRC.

DEAR: 7 Steps to Success CPD workshop

As part of the TDAc CPD staff training programme I offered a follow-up workshop to the initial 7 Steps to Success training session delivered at the start of term.

I worked with a member from both the Technology and Humanities colleges to put together the hour session.

We planned to recap each of the 7 Steps, then discuss how teachers had implemented these ideas, sharing good ideas with the group. We finished off with a closer look at how to use PhotoStory to make a review or book trailer and make these things more interactive, thereby engaging more students.

In reality turn out was lower than expected and we tailored the session to meet the individual needs of those there. This meant we spent longer on introducing the 7 steps rather than how these had been used within colleges.

Not exactly what we had planned but one attendee said…

“I would like to say how much I enjoyed your session yesterday; apart from two separate half-sessions, this is the only one that I have attended whereby I felt connected to the subject matter.   Thank you.”

So overall it was a success – and we will be repeating the session again in April.

DEAR: 7 Steps to Success

For the recent staff training day I put together a powerpoint that introduced the 7 steps to success for developing and improving our DEAR programme.

If you need a refresher here it is…

 

Creative Commons – A quick guide to using images ethically

We all know how tempting it is when we are in a hurry to quickly copy and paste pictures from the web straight into our work.

But have you ever thought about who actually owns those picture….

There are ways of sharing your own pictures (and protecting them) as well as finding pictures that the owners actually want to share.

This is called Creative Commons, take a quick look at the slideshow below.

Quick links to Creative Commons own search, Flickr’s Creative Commons Advanced Search and Google’s Advanced Image Search are below – why not give them a try and use images ethically (legally).

Creative Commons Search

Creative Commons own Search

Google

Creative Commons in Googles Advanced Image Search

Flickr

Creative Commons found on Flickr Advanced Search