A NEW Way To Share Our You've Been Virtually Book'd Program Using Capstone Connect & Choice Boards!

  

As we kick off a new year, I have been getting January resources ready for our learners and teachers at Van Meter.  One of the new things I added last month, were the You've Been Virtually Book'd choice boards filled with eBooks from Capstone Connect.  

I am excited for this new way to share it and am so happy I thought about it today while putting together Our January Choice Board! 

There is now a new column just for each months You've Been Virtually Book'd choice boards.  

When they click on the image, it will take them to this choice board filled with eBooks I got from our Capstone Connect.  

Let me share a little post below from earlier this month explaining the You've Been Book'd program and Capstone Connect 

One of our favorite reading celebrations at Van Meter School are the...

...You've Been Book'd bags and lists that we have shared throughout the year. 

Our students and teachers love hanging the You've Been Book'd posters in their windows, reading the books, checking the boxes and trading them with other classrooms.  

It is so much fun.  You can read all about our You've Been Book'd program here.

This spring when all of us were learning from home, I thought it would be fun and special to take our You've Been Book'd program online and use all of the wonderful eBooks in our Capstone Interactive to make this happen. 

Now, being back at school with our students and having several of them learning from home, I am going to kick off our You've Been Virtually Book'd program again using the NEW Capstone Connect.

Let me show you how I put the You've Been Virtually Book'd For December choice board together today.

First, I logged into our Capstone Connect. 

I searched for holiday eBooks using the Title Search in Capstone Connect. 

When I searched Kwanzaa, it gave me the results of one eBook and one PebbleGo article. 

For the choice board I created, I needed the book cover and link to the eBook.  

To view the eBook, I clicked on Kwanzaa and the eBook...

...opened up in Capstone Interactive.  This let me view the eBook and also grab the cover image. 

I then clicked on Copy Link and took it to the choice board. 

I then went back to the You've Been Virtually Book'd For December choice board I created in Google Slides.  I added the screen shot of the book cover, clicked on the image, and added the link I copied to the image. 

When our students and teachers click on the book covers, it will take them straight to the ebooks within Capstone Interactive.  

We don't even have to login because by using Capstone Connect it takes us directly to the eBooks and PebbleGo resources every time.  

We love our You've Been Book'd program and can't wait to celebrate reading in one more way with our students as we share our You've Been Virtually Book'd program every month! 

I made a template for you to create your own You've Been Virtually Book'd For December.  You will find it here to make a copy, friends. 

It's Time For Our January Choice Board and Collection By Destiny! You Will Find The Links Here, Friends.

Happy New Year, friends. 

It's time for our January Choice Board! 

This month, I have put together our monthly choice board filled with special events in January, coding, making, read alouds and sing alongs, and technology fun. 

There are lots of special events in January.  In the first column, you will find...

...the New Year's Choice Board and...

...the Lunar (Chinese) New Year Choice Board.  Earlier this week, I shared more about these two choice boards in this post. 

I also created the Let's Learn About Martin Luther King Jr Choice Board as we celebrate his special day on January 18, 2021. You will find out more about this choice board here. 

You will find the January Choice Board here to share with your students.  This will take them directly to the choice board and all of the resources included. 

If you want to make any changes or add your own things, you will find the editable link here.

I also put all of these resources into a new Collection by Destiny.  You will find the January Choice Board Collection here.

Have a wonderful start of a new year with your students, teachers and community, friends. 

A Special Choice Board For Martin Luther King Jr. Day On January 18, 2021

 

As we get ready to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18, 2021, I have created a special choice board to share with our students and teachers, and to include in the January Choice Board. 

On this choice board, you will find places for students to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. through stories, the Cantata Learning song, PebbleGo articles, videos, articles and even the...

...STEM Challenge, Can You Build A Podium For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? from our friends at Maker Maven.  

You will find the link for the Martin Luther King Jr. Choice Board to share with students here.  And if you want to make changes to the board, you will find that link here. 

Also, this is part of the January Choice Board that you will find here in this post.

Let me know if there are other resources I should add to the Martin Luther King Jr. Choice Board, friends.  I would love to include those too. 

Two Choice Boards & Collections By Destiny To Learn About & Celebrate New Year's and Lunar New Year!

As we get ready to go back to school next week and welcome in the new year, I have put together a special place for our students and teachers to learn about and celebrate New Year's and Lunar New Year. 

On this choice board, you will find the...

New Year's Choice Board and...

Lunar (Chinese) New Year Choice Board filled with books, videos, articles, art and more. 

This is the published link to share with your students.  

If you want to make changes to either board, you will find the link to make a copy and edit here.

I also added a Collection by Destiny to each choice board in the upper left hand corner.  You will find the Lunar New Year Collection by Destiny here and...

...the New Year's Collection by Destiny here.

Please let me know if there are other resources to include in the choice boards and Collections...I would be happy to add them. 

Enjoy the rest of your holiday and get ready for an amazing new year, friends! 

Honored To Be Part Of The Top 50 Global EdTech Influencers of Augmented Reality in K-12 To Follow in 2021 From CleverBooks

 

I am honored to be part of this special group, Top 50 Global EdTech Influencers of Augmented Reality in K-12 To Follow in 2021 from our friends at...

...CleverBooks, Augmented Reality for STEM Education. 

As shared by CleverBooks, 

Here’s our list of 50 Global EdTech Influencers on Augmented Reality (AR) in K-12 that shape future of Education. From educators passionate about innovative technology to podcasters, bloggers, and speakers, these EdTech thought leaders and enthusiasts navigate the transformation of today’s educational sector.

COVID-19 pushed the global educational landscape into a new digital era! Digital technology is vast became an essential tool to allow educators to empower students’ learning. Augmented Reality (AR) in particular gained tremendous popularity at K-12 during remote schooling, thus, providing an engaging and immersive learning environment to students of all ages. Learn more about how to apply AR in your class.

Congratulations to all thought leaders and EdTech experts who make a difference in education, powering it with AR to spark students’ imagination and curiosity! And how are you going to influence the word of K-12 education?

One of my goals for 2021 is to grow the way I use augmented reality with our students in creative, educational and innovative ways. 

Thank you CleverBooks for this wonderful mention and all that you do to bring augmented reality to education. 

Merry Christmas, Friends. Let's Play Games On The 12th Day Of Making!

 

Merry Christmas, Friends! It's the 12th Day of Making, friends! Today, we are celebrating by playing games.

You will find The 12th Day of Making is Games choice board with two free eBooks from Capstone and other activities and resources. 

It includes these two awesome eBooks from our friends at Capstone.  These are available through January 15, 2021. 

I added 12 Days of Making to the December Choice Board that you will find here.  It is under the Making column. 

I can't wait to share 12 Days of Making with our students and school community.  

A big thank you to our friends at Capstone for making these wonderful eBooks available for all of us.  You can learn more about Capstone and all of the amazing books and resources they create here.

You can find the 12 Days of Making choice board here to share with students, teachers and families.

It's Day 25 of the 25 Days of Digital Tools and Apps For Future Ready Librarians! Check Out The 2020 Best Books Collection Today, Friends!

 

Merry Christmas, friends. 

Its December 25 and Day 25 of our very special 25 Days of Digital Tools and Apps from Future Ready Librarians®.   

As I shared here, for 25 days in December, I will be sharing digital tools, along with ideas and resources to go with each, all shared by wonderful Future Ready Librarians from around the country. 

Today, I am excited to share the Look What We Did In 2020 Future Ready Librarians Collection by Destiny. I  Just click on Card 25. 

On our interactive choice board, you will find the Look What We Did In 2020 Future Ready Librarians Collection by Destiny filled with amazing resources, webinars, podcasts and more.  

To get back to the main slide, just click on the red house in the right hand corner of every slide.  That will take you back to...

...this front page where you can easily click on any of the days as they are being added throughout the month.  And it will be a great way to follow 25 amazing Future Ready Librarians too! 

I hope you enjoyed the 25 Days of Digital Tools and Ideas from Future Ready Librarians. 

You will find the link for The 25 Days of Digital Tools and Ideas from Future Ready Librarians here.

Have a blessed and peaceful holiday with your family and friends.  See you in 2021. 

Follow Santa Around The World Today With Santa Tracker From Google!

 

It's Christmas Eve and there is nothing more exciting for children to think about where Santa might be and when he is coming to their house to deliver presents.  

Our friends at Google have created a very special site that allows families to track Santa as he travels around the world today. 

It's called Santa Tracker! 

On the Santa Tracker Google Map, Santa can be found traveling across the world.  You can click on him to Zoom in to get a closer look at the locations. 

You will also find three places at the bottom that will give you a glimpse into the locations and his activity too. 

When you click on Local Guides, it brings up photos from the specific locations.  

You will find fun little pictures of Santa in the Live Feed. 

And the coolest part is the middle box that shows where Santa is at and when he will arrive at your house.  It even shows how many gifts have already been delivered! 

Not only is this a special place to track Santa today, the Santa Tracker site is also loaded with fun, educational and interactive activities for young people that we have been checking out at Van Meter all month long.  

You will find these and...

...more by scrolling down on the front page of Santa Tracker found here. 

Google has also created this helpful Family Guide for Santa Tracker that can be found here. 

Merry Christmas, friends.  I wish you and your family a very blessed and peaceful holiday.