Additional resources and links can be found at: And t/bestwebsitestop25 Selected AASL Top 25 Websites (according to Liz!) for Teaching and Learning Compiled by Liz Deskins, for presentation

Original directive for This AASL Award New for 2012 “The Best Websites for Teaching and Learning honors websites, tools, and resources of exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning as embodied in the American Association of School Librarians‘ Standards for the 21 st Century Learner.” “The "Top 25" Websites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.”

Remembering: recalling information Actions for this level include: Recognizing Listing Retrieving Locating Finding AASL Standards Organize knowledge so that it is useful Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily. Diigo: a free social bookmarking, research, and knowledge sharing tool. GoogleReader A way to collect and store for future reading all of the blogs, or other RSS sites you subscribe to.

Ideas for using Diigo with students: Save important websites and access them on any computer. Categorize websites by titles, notes, keyword tags, lists and groups. Teachers and students can use the group and list features of Diigo to organize bookmarks on themes or topics. Classes can also collaborate and discuss information within Diigo. Students can use Diigo to create annotations on useful websites, and save the websites to groups or lists.

Ideas for using Google Reader with students (or teachers): Google Reader can be used as a way to receive news on a certain topic for a paper or project to directly to you. All the information on a certain topic can be found by a search engine such as Google and then converted to a RSS feed and put into your reader/aggregator. If students have class blogs (such as one for group projects, discussion groups or lab groups) then Google Reader can keep you up to date with any new activities on their blogs.

Understanding: The ability to comprehend and to share what you know with someone else. Actions for this level include: Interpreting Inferring Comparing AASL Standards Use strategies to draw conclusions … from further investigations Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. GoodReads Discover and share books you love on Goodreads, the world's largest site for readers and book recommendations! Popplet A free online tool that allows you to create mind mapping and brainstorming diagrams.

Ideas for using Goodreads with students: Have students use it to research reading choices. Create a class group for sharing. Use the fan feature for active Goodread authors and follow their updates and posts. You may even be able to start an online conversation with them.

Ideas for using Popplet with students: create Popplets to showcase their favorite authors, Use Popplet to help very young students gain English language acquisition skills, including understanding word sounds, and creating word webs that show the connection between words and images around a common theme. Have students share what they learn about characters in a book by preparing Popplets in groups to write about the story characters.

Applying: The ability to use learned material in a real way. Actions for this level include: Implementing Using Executing AASL Standards Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. Prezi Presentations are created on a virtual canvas combining visual images, text, and multimedia pieces. Animoto An easily accessible tools for creating videos and presentations.

Ideas for using Prezi with students: As a portfolio of student work As a timeline. As an agenda.

Ideas for using Animoto with students (or teachers): Create a 30 second commercial or public service announcement about … Have students create a simulated field trip. Or a reflection after one. Create Book trailers which you can showcase on your library webage.

Analyzing: The ability to see and manipulate parts that make up the whole of something. These can be classified, sorted, or rearranged to demonstrate this ability. Actions for this level include: Organizing Attributing Collecting AASL Standards Organize knowledge so that it is useful Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information. Livebinder Your three-ring binder for the web! A place to store and organize information. Symbaloo An online visual bookmark organizer.

Ideas for using Livebinder with students (or teachers): Create your own PLN using this folder system. Create targeted information for a particular class resource. Use as your own personal online filing system. Find someone else’s Binder and add it to your shelf. This is called sharing, not stealing!

Ideas for using Symbaloo with students: Students can create an online portfolio of work. Have students create a background resource for a class study of something, for example, a Shakespeare work. Create a “selected online resources” so students do not needlessly “Google” for information during a project.

Evaluating: The ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose. Actions for this level include: Monitoring Checking Critiquing AASL Standards: Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information Develop personal criteria for gauging how effectively own ideas are expressed. Twitter Sharing information,140 characters at a time! Edmodo A secure place for students and teachers to share and collaborate.

Ideas to use with students: Produce a Tweet dialogue between two opposing characters (e.g. King Harold and William the Conqueror) about a key issue... Summarize a topic / concept / viewpoint as a tweet; each student should be given a different one to focus on. Write a collective poem, each tweet one line of the poem.

Ideas to use with students: Have students write reflections that can be assessed online by teacher. Allows for online conversation between students. Peer critiquing.

Creating: Combining elements into something new and different. Demonstration of new thinking from assimilating information. Actions for this level include: Designing Planning Producing AASL Standard: Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. Use the writing process, media & visual literacy, and technology skills to create products to express new understanding. VoiceThread "A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in a variety of ways.“ Wikispaces "A wikspace is a workspace or presentation space that can be viewed or used collaboratively. A great space to share new thinking or just to design it."

Ideas to use with students: Use to allow young students “talk” about a final project, then share with parents online. English language learners can use this to collect language fluidity change over time. A classroom can create a community story.

Ideas to use with students: As a class, build an information space for a curricular topic. As a teacher, create a pre-chosen set of web sites or word documents for student use. As a librarian, put your summer reading lists here and give address to school community.

Any further questions? Remember, you are only limited by your own imagination in designing ways to use these tools Feel free to me with other questions or ideas. I will add them to the wiki created for this presentation.