3 Things from the NVHS LMC #14

Useful Tech Tool: Easy PDF for Converting PDF Files
When you or your students just need to convert an Adobe Acrobat PDF file to another format, then Easy PDF is an easy to use, ad-free website that does the trick. It offers 15 conversion options and you can upload from your computer or your Google Drive or Dropbox account.


From the Ed Tech Blogs
Matt Miller's Ditch That Textbook blog has a few interesting ideas in the post called 4 Ways to Make Math Come Alive with Google Tools. He also has links to a few blogs that regularly talk about math ideas. In a post on her Shake Up Learning blog, Kasey Bell gives a quick tutorial on how use Google Drive's advanced search menu to find documents.. 
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Alex Award: Written for Adults, but They Have Appeal for Teens
The Alex Awards​ are given to ten books every year that are written for an adult audience, but that have some special appeal to teenagers. They are a great bridge for students who want to transition from YA books to adult titles. Some of the titles might also be a good fit for independent reading assignments or that might be of interest to you. Our school has a number of the titles from current and past years, but you can see the full list on the YALSA's Book Finder database.

3 Things from the NVHS LMC #13

Books for Pros

Did you know we have a collection of books about teaching strategies and issues related to teaching. We try to update it when we learn about new teaching strategies, important trends, and education gurus. But we do much better with your suggestions, so please let us know if there is a professional book we should have in the collection.

Interesting Articles: Social Emotional Edition

     1)    Adolescents have a fundamental need to contribute and help others. 2) File under no kidding: When teachers (and other school staff) help students develop their non-cognitive skills, it has a huge impact on their future outcomes. 3) One teacher's perspective on helping to promote our students' mental health well-being​. 4) And finally, here is some advice about how to help teenage girls deal with anxiety and build resilience. 

MC Database: Science in Context

Science in Context has a wide variety of materials related to various topics in the sciences. Categories include reference material, newspapers and magazines, academic journals, pointers to websites, experiments, audio, video, and images Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Health teachers might also find some useful stuff here too. Like many of our databases, the program also has a button to send material to Google Classroom if you want build an assignment around something from the database.

***3 Things Newsletter Archive (in case you missed something)***

3 Things from the NVHS LMC: Valentines Day Edition

Database Features for Teachers: ABC-CLIO History Databases

Our ABC-CLIO history databases​ allow you to browse by time period and sub-topic. These sub-topics have a section for exploring background information, another for analyzing an issue or topic with a key question, background essay, a few short point of view essays, and suggested additional sources. These databases also have a ton of reference articles and primary sources. The Save button on each article allows you to share the article directly on Google Classroom. Example: Woodstock.

We Take Requests
Wondering if we have a book for you or do you think we should have a item in the collection students would / should read? We take requests. Just let us know, and if it fits our LMC policy for what we collect (e.g. supports curriculum and/or interest / appropriateness for students, or professional materials for you, we can afford it...), we will be glad to get it for you as soon as we can. Same with your students. We are able to accommodate most requests. Of course, that excludes novels like 50 Shades of Grey....for example...


Cool Website: The Conversation
The Conversation is a news analysis site with articles written by academics from various disciplines. The articles are written in easy to understand language about interesting and relevant topics and they are a manageable length. Example article that has personal (but probably not curricular relevance): This trait could be key to a lasting romance​. Nope, it’s not a Buzzfeed article. It reports on a recent academic study. Interesting stuff.​

3 Things from the NVHS LMC #10

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ACCESS in the LMC

Our LMC’s role during ACCESS time will be to provide a place for students to study quietly and catch up on assignments. Since students will have a few different options during this time, we thought this was the best way to experiment with our space and time as we try to figure this stuff out.

Tabify will help you organize your data by creating tabs in your spreadsheet. (Google Drive Add-on for Sheets)

Try this- -Open up your spreadsheet of Form responses and turn on the Tabify Add-on. Select a column from your spreadsheet and tabify will create a tab for each response in the column. This can be used to create a tab for each period or any other response you selected.

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda is friendless—an outcast—because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her Through her work on an art project, Melinda is finally able to face what really happened that night and find a way  to speak her truth. With powerful illustrations by Emily Carroll, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak: The Graphic Novel comes alive for new audiences and fans of the classic novel.

3 1/2 Things from the NVHS LMC #12

Chromebook Help Page

We are working on a section of the LMC site that will have technology help for students. In this section we will have troubleshooting steps for common student teh problems and information about policies related to the devices, and possibly more. The first troubleshooting page is up. It explains how to deal with an issue we have been having with students not being able to login. If you have suggestions for issues you think we should include, just let Eric or Carrie know.

Boclips for Teachers (still in Beta)

A new educational video service just came out. Boclips for Teachers claims to have a few million educational, ad-free videos from some familiar vetted publishers (e.g. PBS, Ted,-ED, Crash Course). You have to create an account, but it is free. It is also still in beta, so if you sign up, they may ask you to fill out some short survey. .Did I mention that it’s free? The Free Technology for Teachers website has a write up about the service.

We are 204: Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"―people write their wishes on piece s of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.

Bonus Item: We now have a blog that will have the archives of  this newsletter and, possibly…eventually….some other content. Please check it out.

3 Things from the LMC: Halloween Edition

"I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey." – Rocky Horror Picture Show

MLA Citation Help for the Wicked & Perplexed

Like with other areas of high school research, most students struggle with citing sources  using MLA style in their projects. No worries, we have LMC resources to help. Our district Research Handbook site has a MLA Citation guide, as well as a section just on citing sources. We also have a NoodleTools subscription. In addition to making it easier to cite sources, it is also a great teaching tool. By the way, we have had many teachers use it for graduate work because it has several citation styles, including APA, in the program.

Frightfully Useful Resource of the Week: Allsides.com

Whether you are teaching about current events, bias or point of view, or you just want to see how the other half frames the issues of the day, you should check out Allsides.com. The site features brief summaries of current news stories and links to three articles with different ideological perspectives (left, right, and center). There is even a school edition coming out at the end of November. Spooky how cool this site is for the aspiring news junkie.

We are 204: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
One of the books on our list that has a little bit of the supernatural in the plot. What it's about: Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. This fiercely stunning novel in verse  takes place in just sixty potent seconds—the time it takes Will to ride the elevator down to his apartment lobby and decide whether or not he's going to murder the guy who killed his brother.​ The full list and more information is at weare204.blogspot.com

3 Things from the NVHS LMC Thanksgiving Edition

Reminder: The LMC Directors Have Left the LMC

We love it when you come to visit us, but we also like to visit you in your classroom. Here are some of the things we can do for you:: teach your students research or technology skills, co-plan a project, track down and send you some resources for your lesson, be an extra teacher in the room to help conference with students are answer questions, be a temporary co-teacher in your Google Classroom, make screencasts or tutorials to provide "just in time" help. Just drop us a line. We would be glad to help!

Free Stuff Alert: Search Operators Poster

Guess what we made you? Nope, it's not a hand turkey drawing. It's a poster that shows you how to use a few search tricks that help you or your students focus your searches using search operators.. The poster is made for legal size paper (8.5 x 14), so it can be printed on a laser printer. Here is the Google Slides version​. 

We are 204: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
When Aristotle meets Dante, the two strike up an unparalleled relationship. Dante is everything Aristotle wishes he were: articulate, smart, and self-confident. Together they begin questioning the secrets of the universe and navigating the painful journey from adolescence into adulthood. Sharing books, dreams, a near-fatal accident, and a year apart, the two discover the power of their inseparable bond. ​