November 29, 2016

FAKE NEWS versus The Truth: how to spot the difference

One of the biggest discussions right now is about the use of fake news in social media sites, especially on Twitter and Facebook, and how quickly it can be shared.

Here are just a few articles concerning this trend:

• Students have 'Dismaying' Inability to Tell Fake News From Real, Study Finds - NPR
• Facebook, Fake News and the Meaning of Truth - BBC
• We Tracked Down a Fake-News Creator in the Suburbs. Here's What We Learned - NPR

School Librarians are Information Teachers and are here to help. We are at the forefront of teaching Information Literacy.  These are must-have skills both students and adults should process such as the ability to:

• Consider the source. (Authority) 
• Read beyond the headline. (Authority)
• Check the author. (Authority) 
• What's the support? (Accuracy & Reliability) 
• Check the date. (Relevance and Reliability) 
• Is this some kind of joke? (New in the post-truth world!) 
• Check your biases. (Questioning) 
• Consult the Experts. (Questioning)

The above information was shared in a wonderful blog post by Judi Moreillon: https://goo.gl/OLqpC

November 29, 2016

5 Excellent Google Doc Templates for Teachers

I am always a firm believer in sharing of resources so no one has to spend time “reinventing the wheel” so to speak. This includes using resources that have already been created and then customizing them for my own purposes. This is why I always search for a Google Doc or Sheet template before I start from scratch. There are many wonderful templates available online that can save you a lot of time. 

In a blog post by Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, is an article titled 5 Excellent Google Dos Templates for Teachers.  Here are the top 5 templates:

• Newsletter
• Project Proposal
• Lesson Plans
• Brochure
• Class Notes

To access any of these Templates, go to Docs Gallery and click on the Template Gallery on the top right-hand side and scroll through the different templates.