Final2
In The September 2012 Issue
Power Up Your Classroom
Paula Baco Earns 2012 Hugh Durbin Award
Free September Webinars
INFOhio Insider Tip
Quick Links




Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter

Largelogowhite
 
People are saying... 

"Really useful information. I had used TRAILS in the past, but Paula [Baco] came up with some wonderful new ways to use it that I had never thought of! "

Participant in the INFOhio August No Sweat Boot Camp for the Common Core. For more information, see the story below right on Paula, our 2012 Hugh Durbin Award winner!
New INFOhio Password for  2012-13! 

The username and password needed to use INFOhio resources from home has changed for 2012-13. Ask your library media specialist or ITC provider. You can also request it here.

 

"Why can't you just print it in this newsletter?" you may be asking. Our agreements with the companies that publish our resources require that we not publish the password in an electronic form that could be easily shared with people outside Ohio.

Power Up Your Classroom in 2012-13 
PowerUpCord

Welcome to 2012-13! Plug in to these useful, no cost tools from INFOhio to support the Common Core, College & Career Readiness, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, and more!

 

1) Learning Express LibraryCollege and career readiness tools are available for students to practice for standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, ASVAB, and the PRAXIS series. The Job & Career Accelerator lets students explore careers, create a resume, and develop interview strategies. Add to that skill building help for grades 3-12, and you have a resource you don't want to miss. 

 

2) IMatrix. What looks like a Rubix cube and helps you find Common Core classroom resources? INFOhio's IMatrix IMatrix. The IMatrix  helps you design inquiry-based instruction that aligns to content standards of the four core curriculum areas: ELA, math, science, and social studies. By searching the matrix by standard or by subject area and grade, you can see how skills are scaffolded for students, link to resources to teach those skills, and find interdisciplinary connections. Grades 6-8 are available now, while remaining grade levels will be added over the next year. 

 

3) GO! Ask, Act, AchieveHelps 6th -10th graders work through a research project by breaking up a large project into smaller, more manageable steps.

Each step links to useful resources, and a comprehensive Teacher's Guide helps you present research skills.

 

4) eBook CollectionMore than 1,200 public domain titles in multiple formats. More titles on Ohio school recommended reading lists are added every week. You will find Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, Austen, Bronte, Lewis Carroll, key nonfiction, as well as primary sources such as all the State of the Union Addresses of all the presidents.

 

5) Discovery Portal. Accessible through the INFOhio CAT and CAT Jr. library catalogs, the Discovery Portal gives students one-stop access to age-appropriate websites that support Ohio standards, to the Digital Video Collection, and to many INFOhio databases. And it's all searchable through one simple box.

  

DVC example 6) Digital Video Collection. Offers free access to more than 1,800 high-quality educational videos, 80 of which feature closed captioning. Titles support the standards in science, geography, Ohio history, and more. You can stream the videos, download them to view later, or embed them in your own web pages. 

 

7) Searchasaurus, World Book Kids, and Early World of Learning. Designed for pre-K through 3rd grade students, these tools offer narrated stories, interactive reading games, easy-to-read articles, leveled reading practice, Lexile searching, and teacher resources. They give children a great head start on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

 

8) Research 4 Success (R4S). This online course Coming Soon prepares juniors and seniors for the rigorous research skills they need in college and careers. It also helps you deliver blended learning. It is still being developed. Look for it in late October.

 

9) Lexiles. Text complexity is a key concept in the Common Core, and Lexile ratings are the starting point for analyzing text complexity. The INFOhio CAT and CAT Jr. catalogs both offer Lexile searching as do many of the online databases, including EBSCO and World Book products. 

 

10) Professional Development. You do a lot for your students. Take some time to recharge your own batteries with these online training tools you can use any time. INFOhio offers many  webinars throughout the year and archives them all. The  KBC is a free online community for Ohio educators that lets you share ideas with like-minded professionals around the state. The 21 Essential Things is an online study program that helps you learn to use many of the tools listed here. For example, Thing 5 addresses RSS feeds while Thing 21 gives you tips for using INFOhio's KBC and social media sites. You can work through as many of The 21 Essential things as you want for your own knowledge or for college credit.

Baco Earns 2012 Hugh Durbin Award 
PaulaBaco
Paula Baco, 
2012 Hugh Durbin Award Winner

Paula Baco is a "five star educator" according the 125 staff members of the Trumbull Career and Technical Center where she is Library Media Specialist. 

And that is only one of the reasons Paula is this year's Hugh Durbin Award winner, an award that recognizes outstanding leadership in using INFOhio resources to meet the needs of students and teachers. Hugh Durbin, who served for 19 years as the Director of Library Media Services for the Columbus Public Schools and was President of OELMA in 1978, was a mentor and friend to a generation of library media specialists across Ohio. His vision and leadership are celebrated in this annual award.
 
Paula embodies his passion for libraries. This National Board Certified Teacher is "the hub of the academic wheel," according to Charmayne Polen, English Teacher, and Larry Crawford, Academic Supervisor, at TCTC who submitted the nomination.  "She has transformed our library/media center into a multi-dimensional, kid friendly, eye catching resource location," they wrote. Her success is measured in the increasing percentage of students who check out books from TCTC's library every year. 

 

In addition, she manages a monthly literature contest for students to express their feelings about books. She enlisted Barnes & Noble to provide the monthly winners with $25 gift certificates.

 

She also shares her innovative ideas with her peers. For example, she presented a session on using the Tools for Real-Time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS) for formative assessment as part of INFOhio's first-ever online conference in August. Her archived session is available here.

 

Paula will receive her award during the Awards Dinner at the 2012 OELMA Annual Conference held in Sandusky, October 17-19, 2012. Previous recipients include Brenda Gehm, Nancy Nickell, Diana Kiehl, Jane Puleo, Carol Williamson Gibson, Cheri Forster, Debbie Reynolds, Connie Carnicom, and Karon Lippincott.

Free September Webinars 

If you need to earn a CEU or just want to learn something new, log in to one of INFOhio's upcoming webinars in September.  

  • September 6-Hour of Power with INFOhio
  • September 27-Common Core Tools You Can Use from INFOhio

All sessions are 3:30-4:30 p.m. EDT.  If that time is inconvenient, all webinars are archived for later viewing, and you can still earn a certificate of attendance for CEU credit by answering a few questions aftward. 

 

To register for an upcoming session or to view a previous one, go to Learn with INFOhio! Webinars

INFOhio Insider Tip

Wednesday, September 19, is the 10th annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day. To test your skills, consult Mango Language's Pirate course. And while you're there, peruse Mango's 44 additional modern language courses and 15 options for ESL learners. The online drills and pronunciation practice options--including a Beat the Clock game--are a great way to work blended learning into the classroom.