Here are some of the latest book=>movie links:
Shredderman –a Nick TV movie based on the series by Wendelin Van Draanen will be broadcast Sunday June 9th at 8 pm — http://www.nick.com/shows/specials/shredderman/index.jhtml
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — opens July 13th — http://www.harrypotterorderofthephoenix.com/
The Golden Compass — the movie based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series opens December 7th — http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/
Tags: Movie Tie-ins
Curious about what 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds like to read? Students at Amberly are sharing some of their favorite books in short blog entries.
We are piloting the use of Blogmeister a classroom blogging system created by David Warlick’s Landmark Project.
Click here to visit Amberly Book Blurbs.
Tags: Books and Authors
| >Plug the small end of the USB cable into the camera (see right), turn on the camera, and click on the [> button on the upper left corner of the camera display. |  |
| >Plug the larger end of the USB cable into the computer (see right). >When the computer reads the camera a dialog box displays with the option to open your pictures in Picasa. Click okay. |
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| >If you have used Picasa before, your pictures will open in Picasa and you will be prompted to create a folder in Picasa. (see right) >Click here for more info on Picasa. |
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Tags: Technology
Basic Features
Picasa is a free tool for organizing, editing, and sharing photos available from Google. (click here to download a copy for home use) If you are a Mac user familiar with iPhoto, you will find Picasa is similar.
Organizing
When you first launch Picasa, you will be asked if you want the program to search for picture files on your computer. You will then be prompted to import pictures into Picasa: this will allow you to create customized folders and name your pictures. Your folders will be listed in the left-hand pane and the image will be displayed on the right. When you double-click on a picture, it will open up full-sized and the editing tools will appear on the left.
Editing
There are three tabbed sets of editing tools.
Basic Fixes : includes Crop, Straighten, Redeye, Contrast, Color, and Fill Light.
Tuning : includes sliders for Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows, and Color Temperature.
Effects : Sharpen, Sepia, Film Grain, etc.
Have fun experimenting!
Sharing
At the bottom of the Picasa screen are buttons that allow you to upload photos to Google’s web album, email photos, print photos, order prints from an online photo service, and export photos for use in Powerpoint and other programs. Each of these option allows you to easily resize the image and adjust the image quality.
More Help
Here are some links for Picasa help that you can access online:
Tags: Technology
Atomic Learning
http://www.atomiclearning.com – brief video tutorials for popular Windows and Macintosh software; username and password for home use available at school.
Dictionary Link
http://www.dictionarylink.com – a collection of free online dictionaries and translation tools.
FactMonster
http://www.factmonster.com – an online almanac of fast facts from the Information Please Almanac.
Grolier Online Encyclopedia
http://go-kids.grolier.com/ – username and password for home use available at school.
KidsClick!
http://www.kidsclick.org — a directory of recommended internet site picked for kids.
NetTrekker
http://school.nettrekker.com – a directory of internet links selected and annotated by teachers.
Portage District Library Ask a Librarian
http://www.pdl.lib.mi.us/AskALibrarian.aspx – when all else fails, an expert is only an email away.
Tags: Technology
