Technology Tip - November 2021

                                                                                                          by Doug Cairns, Instructional Technology Specialist

Productivity tips for Chrome users

Do you have websites you visit every day? Perhaps your email or calendar. Did you know that in the Chrome browser, you can "Pin" tabs? Pinning a tab will make that tab persistent even after closing your browser. Pinned tabs are grouped to the left side of the screen for easy access and can be rearranged for your specific needs. To "Pin" a tab, simply right-click it to bring up the context menu. You will find the "Pin" option toward the middle of the choices available. You can also "Un-Pin" tabs following the steps in reverse.

Do you work on multiple projects at once and end up with 10, 20, 30, or more tabs open at once? Chrome has a built-in feature called "Tab Groups." Right-click one of your open tabs and select "Add Tab to New Group." This will open a new menu and allow you to name the group, choose a color, open a new tab in the group, Ungroup the tabs, Close the Group, and move all the tabs in a group to a new window. You can right-click other open tabs and select to move them to your already created groups, or simply drag and drop tabs into the preferred group. Clicking on a group will expand or collapse the group so you can easily work with the sites you need to.

Maybe you don't have enough time to read through an entire article online, but you don't want to lose the tab. Chrome has a "Reading List" feature that will allow you to quickly access sites you want to get back to without leaving the tab open or bookmarking them. Right-click the tab you want to add to your reading list and select "Add Tab to Reading List." You can also click on the star found in the address bar and select "Add Tab to Reading List." To access your reading list, you need to have the bookmarks bar open. To open your bookmarks bar, press "Command+Shift+B" on Mac or Ctrl+Shift+B" on PC or go into Chrome Settings > Appearance and toggle the "Show Bookmarks Bar" switch.

One last tip...

Do you frequently have a website that automatically plays video or audio content (Think news or advertisements on a site)? You can quickly "Mute" an entire site so that all content and pages on the site will be muted. Right-click and select "Mute Site," and all pages and content on that site will be muted. You can reverse this action by right-clicking on the tab and selecting "Unmute Site." You will know if a site is muted if you see a speaker icon in the address bar with a red box.

Chrome has many more useful features. If you would like to learn more about what Chrome can do, check back again next month. I will be walking through the creation of profiles to keep personal content separate from work.

New Items in the ERS Library's Circulating Collection - November 2021

(click to play video)

	Click on any book cover to access additional resources via TeachingBooks!

Did You Know? - November 2021

Britannica School/Escolar is available through the ERS Portal and provided to all California schools by the California State Library. This is a fantastic opportunity for students and teachers alike because Britannica is packed with content!

 

Britannica School is the go-to site for K-12 research to build essential information literacy skills, differentiate instruction, and support STEM education. Students can toggle between 3 reading levels on each article, have articles read aloud, and use Merriam-Webster’s double click dictionary to hear words pronounced and read their definitions in English or Spanish. Each article can also be translated into over 80 other languages. In addition to articles, students have access to videos, images, primary source documents, and ebooks.

 

Britannica Escolar is the leading knowledge-building resource, universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish, made for native Spanish speakers, bilingual students, and students learning Spanish. Spanish speakers write all Escolar articles, and when you click “Listen” on any Spanish article, the recording is by an actual Spanish speaker, not a robot.

 

Now Britannica also has its own free Google Chrome extension: Britannica Insights. Information pulled from Britannica School appears on the right side of the screen for every Google search, ensuring that students learn from a reliable and fact-checked source.

Log in to the ERS Portal, or visit britannicalearn.com, for tutorials and to sign up for their blog.

Free Virtual Event: Winter Book & Author Festival

Join Penguin Random House, Library Journal, and School Library Journal on December 9 for our second free, day-long virtual book and author festival as we celebrate librarians everywhere! Enjoy a day packed with author panels and interviews, book buzzes, virtual shelf browsing, and adding to your TBR pile. You’ll hear from many of your favorite authors, whose work runs the gamut from Picture Books to Young Adult titles to the best new Fiction and Nonfiction for adults. There is something of interest for every reader. Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out the virtual exhibit hall, chat directly with authors, access eGalleys, and enter to win prizes and giveaways.

For the program and a full list of speakers, CLICK HERE.  

Event Hours: 7:00AM PST - 2:00PM PST

 

Please note that the event environment and the sessions have attendance capacity limits. If on the day of the event you find that you are unable to access the environment or join a session, know that sessions will be available for on-demand viewing within 24 hours, and the entire event will be accessible for three months from the event date.

By registering for this event or webcast, you are agreeing to the Library Journal Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct Policy and agreeing that Library Journal may share your registration information with current and future sponsors of this event.

Upcoming Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources - November 2021

November is Picture Book Month. During this month, we pay tribute to the importance of picture books in the classroom. Picture books are building blocks that promote literacy, vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension, and many additional skills. The ERS Library has hundreds of picture books available for check out via the Follett Destiny Online Catalog, including:

The ERS Portal contains ebook and audiobooks versions of many picture books in multiple applications:

 

Sora     MackinVIA     Learn360 Audiobooks     TumblebookLibrary (K-6)

Mackin presents -- Lifting Voices: Classroom Favorite Authors on Culturally Responsive Texts

Join Penguin Young Readers' culturally diverse and award-winning authors as they discuss their newest titles.

Listen to Padma Venkatraman speak about "Born Behind Bars," set in Chennai, India, featuring a boy who’s unexpectedly released into the world after spending his whole life in jail with his mom.

Veera Hiranandani will speak on her historical fiction novel about how middle schooler Ariel Goldberg's life changes when her big sister elopes following the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, forcing her to grapple with both her family's prejudice and the antisemitism she experiences.

Joseph Bruchac will tackle the tough subject of the Indigenous experience during the COVID pandemic, exploring what it is like living in quarantine on a Wabanaki reservation.

Torrey Maldonado, author of the highly acclaimed "Tight" and "What Lane?" will talk about his experience which led him to write a masterful story showing a young boy coming of age in a racially split world.

#TreeOfGratitude Challenge 2021

Original post from Peekapak, an ERS Portal Vendor:

We are excited to announce that our #TreeofGratitude Challenge is back for November 2021! This challenge is easy to get involved with, and is open to ALL, and includes two Grand Prizes of a $100 Amazon Gift Cards or a Peekapak character cutout!

What is the #TreeofGratitude Challenge?

The #TreeofGratitude Challenge is a yearly tradition Peekapak hosts for it’s educator community based on the tradition that happens in Peekaville, where upon the first snowfall, the residents of Peekaville gather around the tree to write messages of gratitude onto tags and hang them up on the tree. This tradition allows us to take a step back and look at all the things we have to be thankful for, whether it be the good times or the bad. Check out the book The Peekapak Pals and the Tree of Gratitude, to see where this tradition starts!

How to Enter: Gratitude Tags

In order to participate, have your students create gratitude tags. To do this, have students write down and/or draw any one person, place or thing they are grateful for. You are more than welcome to print and use this tag or create your own!

To submit your response and send us a photo of your classrooms response via twitter by tagging @Peekapak, giving us a follow on Twitter, and using the hashtag #TreeofGratitude. If you read the book, take a picture of you and/or your students reading for a bonus entry!

Then simply take a picture of your student’s tags, post your gratitude tags and tag us in your results!

Prizes!

The grand prizes will be two $100 Amazon gift cards or a character cut out of your favourite PeekapakCharacters!

On November 30th, 2021, when the challenge ends, we will be randomly picking 3 winners and will direct message or email you. (Please make sure that you are following us so we can message you for the prize).

We are so excited about this year’s Gratitude Challenge and are looking forward to hearing all your classroom’s great ideas on practicing gratitude this year!

With gratitude,

Ami & The Peekapak Team

New Documentary "Tell Me Another Story: Diversity in Children's Literature"

“Tell Me Another Story,” a 30-minute free access documentary, presents a compelling and lively portrait of the giants, past and present, who have advanced diversity in picture books, illuminating the reality that multicultural literature is critical to our children’s quality of life and the health of our society.

About the Film:

Produced by the EJK Foundation, in association with The Office Performing Arts + Film, the documentary was created in celebration and recognition of the movement toward social equity. It was directed by Damani Baker and edited by Jon Henry Fine, with original music by Meshell Ndegeocello. Full list of Film Credits

Highlights:

20th century giants featured include W.E.B. Du Bois, Augusta Baker, Pura Belpré and Ezra Jack Keats.

Contemporary champions presented include Pat Cummings, Chris Myers, Meg Medina, Grace Lin, Andrea Davis Pinkney and Marley Dias.

Children’s book awards celebrating diversity illuminated include the Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré and Ezra Jack Keats Awards.

Direct link to Ezra Jack Keats Foundation website:

https://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/tell-me-another-story/

New Items in the ERS Library's Circulating Collection - October 2021

(click to play video)

	Click on any book cover to access additional resources via TeachingBooks!

Free Webinar from HarperCollins Children's Books: Picture This!

Picture This!

Featuring Lian Cho, Kevin Henkes, Oge Mora,

and Dan Santat

October 20

9AM PST

Over the last year and a half, the words “home” and “community” have taken on new meaning. “Home” has become office, school, and safe haven. Home has become the place we’ve stayed to protect our community as we have learned how interconnected the health and well-being of communities truly are. Libraries, which are so central to the foundation of our communities, have also been drastically affected this past year. We are so glad that through creativity, perseverance, and technological innovation, the book world has been able to reach far and wide to those who may not be able to meet in person.

Four new picture books look at these concepts of what and who are home and community to young readers. Home can be a house through the seasons, home can be a beloved companion (stuffed or otherwise). Community can be those who share your red brick walls and those who share this planet. Hear from four of today’s best illustrators, Kevin Henkes, Dan Santat, Lian Cho, and Oge Mora, on how their art processes were informed by these themes and how creativity has given them a sense of home throughout their careers and particularly in the last year.