March 22, 2023: AI part 4: AI Students can use on campus, featuring a demo of SchoolAI from both student and teacher perspective, plus discussion from teachers already using it.  Google Slides from the presentation.

December 8, 2023: Books + Bagels:  These links take you to a folder of printable posters of topics from art and music to fairy tale reboots as well as a Google Doc with links to Canva Templates for the posters and Goodreads links for each book.

November 11, 2023 The Cookoff Learning Lunch: Artificial Intelligence, part 3: tools to detect student use of AI (and why they don't work well). Food provided by our LSN staff!

November 7, 2024: New Young Adult Literature sorted by thematic units: Canva slide show from the presentations with links to lots of useful resources

October 6, 2023 Learning Lunch: Artificial Intelligence: tools to save you time as a teacher. This session features MagicSchool.ai as well as a brief background. Lunch: Salvatore's.

May 19, 2022 Summer Reading learning lunch, highlighting new young adult and best-selling novels and non-fiction titles.

January 3, 2023 (and ongoing on the linked Google Doc) Chatbot Artificial Intelligence writing creators and Education: A working document with links to AI detection tools, articles, and more.

November 11, 2022: "The Cookoff" + updating the library book collection: statistics on our diversity audit

October 21 PD Session 1: Library Resources for classroom teachers at LSN and MCPL

October 21 PD Session 2: What does the educational research say about 1:1?

September 23, 2022: Lunch & A Movie: SWANK video streaming service. Catering by Salvatore's (Chicken Spiedini, Salad, Pasta + Red Sauce, Bread & italian butter, plus fresh popcorn, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints).

May 20, 2022: Broncos Read re-boot + our annual summer reading recommendations. Catering by Longboards.

April 1, 2022 How it started, How it's going: You may not have noticed, but there's been a lot going on. This is a quick recap of some of the resources we've done trainings on over the past few years that are still incredibly useful! The Slides have lots of links to the resources as well as some tutorials. Food = BWW wings, salad, Mac & Cheese.

November 19, 2021 Thanksgiving staff trivia & Surface Book 3 tips & tricks. Based on a staff survey, we offer some hardware and software tips. In the presentation find instructions on pairing your pencil, adjusting the track pad, using dual screen monitors, and adding shortcuts for favorite programs. Plus, we offer lots of tutorial links for Lumio, Kami, and Jamboard.

October 29, 2021 Show & Tell for the new Surface Book 3 computers the staff will get on Monday, November 2.

May 19, 2021: Books and a Buffet (of pop tarts): Nathan and Michael presented two sessions over great new books, including titles on next year's Gateway and Dogwood readers award lists. The Google Slides presentation is linked.

May 12, 2021: Our first learning lunch since the pandemic began! BreakoutEDU lets you build and play breakout games online with your students, either synchronously or asynchronously. Michael recorded this YouTube video for those who couldn't attend in-person. We had the Tacos Del Barrio taco truck serving street tacos and burritos for lunch!

May, 2020: This was our bring-your-own-lunch staff get-together during quarantine / lockdown in the spring of 2020. The topic was new books! Here is the YouTube video one of the sessions.

November 1, 2019:  Our topic for this year's cookoff is how to use students' new MCPL digital library cards to unlock powerful teaching tools in your classroom. We will present a much more in-depth session on the same topic (using these same slides) on our November 5 professional development day.

Travel and PD: Michael presented a session September 6, 2019 on how to get grants to travel in the summer for PD that doesn't require district paperwork. Food truck Friday with Taste of Brazil!

Great books to read! Michael & Nathan's topic for May, 2018 and May 17, 2019. Check out the LSN LMC's 60 second book trailers for some titles to consider. Food both years was Low Life BBQ.

Two great Non-Fiction books, summarized so you get the highlights! Factfulness by Hans Rosling and Courageous Conversations about Race by Glenn E. Singleton April 18, 2019  Chipotle!

Schoology: Library for Teachers Group 9-12. Library resources at a glance, many can be dropped straight into your Schoology lessons. Join code 3HNST-QGH2C. Topic November 2, 2018. Chili Cookoff!

Video Tools for Chromebooks and Classrooms: Topic Feb 23, 2018

Augmented Reality: Add video, messages, or web links to common objects in your classroom, like posters, book covers, and more. Topic November 3, 2017

Media Literacy Tools: Topic April 26, 2017 Get a digital version of the poster to print or post. 

Makerspaces: February 24, 2017  Play with the LMC's Sphero kits, arduino and Raspberry Pi kits, and all the links on our Teacher Tech Playground page.

Breakout Boxes: Gamify your learning! We can design a game for your students based on your learning objectives. Click here to see breakout games the secondary librarians in our district have created. Topic for January 2016.

Makerspace: Robots, Spheros, Arduinos, and more:  Students can learn how to code, program robots, build and program drones, or simply drive our spheros in order to learn directions in a modern language.  The LMC also has iPad controllers, ramps, cones, and other equipment to help create a learning environment that’s right for your assignment. This link highlights current inventory of makerspaces at secondary schools. Topic for February 24, 2017

Virtual Reality: The LMC has 30 phones and carboard VR viewers that your class can use to take virtual field trips. Our phones work with Google Expeditions (click to see list of Expeditions).  Topic for September 28, 2016.   

May 2015: What's new in Literature (Summer Reading highlights)

Green Screen Multimedia: The LMC has two green screen studios to help your students and class groups create their multimedia projects. Paired with Macintosh computers in our editing suites, students can create nearly any sort of movie project. Our YouTube Help Videos cover a variety of movie creation questions. Topic for January 2014. 

Soundzabound Royalty-Free Music Library for use in school video projects, podcasts, and more. See our Web Passport on the research page for login and password information. 

All these tools come from (or help with) Google:

IORad: Chrome Extension that makes it wicked easy to create online tutorials for Websites. No screen shots. No recording. This does all the work for you! Editable, easy, and efficient.

Dualless: Want dual monitors, but only have one? This Chrome Extension allows you to split your screen into two parts, which is VERY helpful with classroom Google Meets. 100 second tutorial video here.

Google Meet Breakout Rooms: Chrome Extension. Send your students into breakout rooms while in virtual learning. Overview video here.

Black Menu: Extension that allows easy entry into the Google Universe without leaving the Web page you’re on. Easily access search, translate, Keep, maps, calendar, gmail, and so much more.

Boomerang Calendar: Shares your availability for meetings, etc. with one simple email; a very efficient way of getting a group of busy people to agree on a common time.

Google Fonts: Easily pick fonts for use in the Googleverse.

Google student programs: Educational opportunities across the Google Universe.

Google Tour Builder: Create “tours” using Google maps, YouTube, Images, links, &  more.

Google Trends: As the name suggests, this Web page will show you what’s trending in Google searches, as well as where things are trending.

Hypothesis: Similar to Kami, this Chrome extension is a web-pased PDF markup tool. Teachers can use it, students might not be able to log into it.

Image Search: Extension that lets you submit any image from the Web for a search and Google will give you its best guess as to what it is, with reasons why and similar images for comparison.

Kami: District-purchased subscription allows you to markup PDFs and other documents.

Keep: Google product that allows you to right-click on any Web-based item and save it across all your platforms — including smart watches. Great for shared lists and a lot more.

Save to Google Drive: Chrome extension that puts a drive icon on your toolbar. When you find something online you want to save to your drive, just click the icon.

Tone: Chrome extension for your toolbar. With it, you send out a ‘tone’ to student chromebooks and the tone loads the Website you want students to go to.

YouTube Video Editor: As the name suggests, you can edit video within your account's YouTube Studio.

Swank Video Streaming: Added in August 2022, Swank allows teachers to log in through this link to find full-length movies for use in the classroom (or assign as homework). You can assign links to videos, or segments of videos, to your students. They sign in with their Google credentials to access the assigned clips, but can only access the clip you've assigned. If requesting a new movie, be sure to include educational purpose or SWANK lincensors might not approve the request.

AnswerGarden: Online tool (Website, not chrome app) that bills itself as “a new minimalistic feedback tool. Use it for real time audience participation, online brainstorming and classroom feedback.”

Bamboozle: Make educational games online, no student accounts needed.

BeeLine Reader: Creates a gradient overlay that enhances reading ability for readers at any level. Once you’ve tried this, it’s hard to go back to the old way of reading black type on a white background!

Blooket: Much like Kahoot!, this gamifies learning by engaging students in a fun online participatory event.

Classroom resources from the University of California- Davis: Michael created this Google Doc following an NEH workshop in Sacramento, CA. There are a number of great teaching tools for any classroom, plus links to resources specific to lessons on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Citelighter: Newly rebranded as SlyvanPaper this is a writing assistance and management platform. The free version works with Google Docs and includes outlining and capture tools.

ClipTo: Chrome extension for note taking, highlighting, and bookmarking. Double tap shortcut is nice; completely free.

Coggle: Idea and Mind- Mapping program that allows multiple collaborators to map at the same time. Easily embed images, links, and more to the maps.

Evolution of the Web: See a timeline of how technology has evolved over the past couple of decades.

FlipGrid: Online tool (Website, not chrome app). “Flipgrid is a video discussion community for your classroom that supercharges your students’ voices. You add the topics, your students respond with short videos, and everyone engages!”

Free Rice: It isn't just vocabulary anymore. This app donates rice as students practice vocab. 

Gimkit- A high school student built this after playing Kahoot and believing he could improve upon it.

Grammarly: Extension that check’s you’re grammer and spellling as you type. Clearly it wasnt used for this entry.

Noodle Tools: citation tool with paid subscription through the LMC.

Overdrive/Sora: app or extension that allows you to download content from the LSN LMC’s fiction eBook library to your device and read / listen offline.

Parlay- It provides content ideas for discussions, but it mainly is a data collector to encourage better classroom discussions. For instance in can help track student participation.

Phet: Interactive simulations, specifically for Math & Science.

Pocket: Chrome extension that allows you to save articles for later, then aggregates them all in one place.

Quizzez:  Similar to Kahoot.it; this platform allows you to gamify learning. If you use Kahoot a lot, this is a fun change of pace. If you don’t use Kahoot, start with either of these to engage your students.

Scrible: Chrome extension. Save Websites, articles and more. Highlight and annotate within a Website.

Socrative: Chrome App for students and teachers. “Socrative will instantly grade, aggregate and provide visuals of results to help you identify opportunities for further instruction.”

Sublingual: Learn French while you browse the Web! This extension translates text you hover over into French.

TeachingBooks: This is free to LSR7 teachers and students through your district log-in. Not sure how to pronounce an author's name? Looking for book trailers or summaries? There are thousands of great book-related resources in TeachingBooks.net

ThingLink: Chrome Web extension that allows students to easily create interactive image and video content.

TurnItIn: plaigiarism prevention teaching program. Teachers have access through school email as login; see a librarian with access questions.

Typing.com: This website offers a typing curriculum that is gamified. 

Wakelet: A bookmarking site, similar to Pinterest, but better suited for education & classrooms. Free sign-in with Google. Check out the Surf School to learn how to create collections, share, and collaborate.

Adobe Express (formerly SPARK) Professional-level graphics with templates and fonts from the maker of Photoshop. Free for educators.

Anchor Web-based Podcasting platform

AutoDraw: You draw something with your mouse, it gives you a cleaner, better version or other options.

Awesome Screen Shot: Extension for easily taking screen shots of the whole or only a portion of your screen.

Bitable: Online video editor. Easy, but freemium.

Canva: Create posters and graphics quickly and easily. See Adobe Express for a similar but more professional (and free) app.

Class Hook: Easily access and embed clips from popular TV and movies for classroom use. 

Complexly: From literature to biochemistry, Complexly's shows cover a breadth of topics designed to get you thinking. Owned by Hank Green, of "crash course video" fame.

EdPuzzle: Create a free teacher account to create quizzes or checks for understanding within YouTube videos, voice-over existing videos, and a lot more.

IoRad: This makes it wicked easy to create a how-to tutorial for web-based activities. You just click through the steps of what you want to show, and IoRad does all the screen captures and even voices it for you. If you love it there is a Google toolbar Extension.

KeepVid: Download and embed YouTube videos for presentations. Freemium.

Genial.ly: Similar to Canva or Adobe Express, this free tool lets you easily create interesting promotional materials or other projects.

Photos: Beautiful, professional images for use in presentations, movies, etc. No-cost, copyright free, royalty free.  Pexels  or Pixabay

Photopea: Free photo editing, similar to Photoshop, that works on Chromebooks

PikToChart: create nice graphics, charts, and pictograms. Freemium. See also Venngage.

Pixton: Create comics & characters easily. Also available in Spanish.

PlayPosIt: Similar to EdPuzzle. Post video and pause and designated spots.

Quiver Vision: Use iPads or student smartphones to make maps, flags, cells, volcanoes, and a whole lot more turn 3D.

ScreenCastify: Video recording tool for creating screencasts. The program records everything on your screen, or the part you want it to capture, while you do the voice over. Great for flipped classroom use! You can also make highlights and draw on the video.

ScreenCast-O-Matic: Video capture tool for recording screencasts, includes option to show you in a picture-in-picture box in the lower right corner. 

Storyboard That: (NOW REQUIRES A SUBSCRIPTION) Storyboard That empowers users to create storyboards and graphic organizers with its award-winning, browser-based Storyboard Creator.

TurnOffTheLights: Extension for watching videos; by clicking the shortcut everything that’s not the video gets darkened on your screen.

TypeWolf: Easily pick quality fonts for presentations, graphics, etc.

Venngage: Charts, graphics, pictograms. See also PikToChart.

Visme.co Create engaging presentations, professional infographics, and other stunning visuals online.

VideoNot.es: Take notes as you watch a video, posts to Google Drive.

WebCamera.io: Records video from the Web Camera and saves to your Google Drive folder

WeVideo: As easy as iMovie, but online. 5 minutes of free edited video a month.

WebWhiteBoard.com: This is exactly what it sounds like. Picture a community Google Doc that’s fully interactive and shareable, but instead of a Doc it’s a whiteboard. It’s that easy. Passwords / emails optional.
YooDownload: Download videos or audio files from the Web for use in student projects. Be sure to close all pop-ups right away by X-ing out of  tab that opens.