TRW was three weeks ago and we had a very exciting program developed for our students.  Instead of the science fiction/fantasy theme “Read Beyond Reality @ Your Library” we had students competing in events based on Reality TV shows.

Monday was “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” using an iPhone app I purchased for our program.  Unfortunately, I had an emergency that took me away from the library prior to the program, but my mentor teacher, Mrs. M., and Amy, my library intern, took over.  We used a document camera and LCD projector to project the iPhone app on a screen.  There were two teams of students who took turns choosing and answering questions.   The team that answered the most questions by the end of lunch won goodie bags.

Tuesday was the “Amazing Race” where students competed in a race consisting of four party type games.  The team that completed all four segments first, won the goodie bags.  The challenge was they had to finish one round before they could move onto the next event.  They all got stuck at building a two tier house of cards!  Again, real life interfered with our program in that I forgot I had a class schedule for 5th period.  Our school runs on a 7 period a day schedule with two lunches and an overlapping 5th period class – lunch 1 goes to lunch and then 5th and lunch 2 goes to 5th then lunch – there is a 20 minute time where both 5ths are in session.  So, Mrs. M to the rescue again!  We moved the event into the Family & Consumer Science classroom.

Wednesday was “Survivor” and students had to complete a “Survivor Challenge” involving a puzzle and clue – they had to put the puzzle together to get to the clue, then solve the riddle.  The riddle/clue required the students to use our card catalog to find a specific book on the shelves.  The first team to bring me the trophy cutout from inside the book won the challenge.  I have to give special kudos to Amy, my intern for coming up with such clever clues – each team had a different clue/book so they couldn’t cheat off each other!  First lunch went very well and they solved the clue quickly – however, yes, there was a glitch.  The book was a career book and just that morning the Freshman Academy teachers took all of the books out of the career section and back to the academy wing for a collaborative unit!  Yikes, would this week ever run smoothly?!  Then during second lunch, apparently I didn’t explain the challenge clearly.  After they solved the puzzle, they all thought that was it, I had to re-state the second part of the challenge, solve the clue! Another problem came in that all teams first part of the clue was the same: “The centre of info will help you in your search for victory” – which directed students to use the card catalog “InfoCentre Search.”  However, the second part was different for each team.  A couple of the teams didn’t realize this and were trying to solve another teams clue!

Thursday was “Wagener-Salley Idol” karaoke contest.  This is an activity we’ve done before for TRW.  The teens really seem to like this one, so it’s kinda become a tradition I can’t leave out.

We didn’t have school on Friday.   Overall, I would have to say the week was a roaring success.  Each day we had more students sign up at the last minute to participate.   I think it wasn’t all the due to the programs, but to the goodie bags!  Each bag had a mix of candy, chips, school supplies, and a small token (stress ball, party toy, etc.)  I’ve even had students (the winners of course!) ask when we’re going to have another event like this one.   Again, I have to give a special thanks to Amy for coming up with most of the ideas for the events – I can only take credit for wanting to base the event around the Reality TV theme and the karaoke contest.

As you know from my previous post, I have an iPhone that I’m having a blast playing with.  I thought I’d share some of the apps I’ve been exploring.

Keeping Up:

Here is the first “page” of apps on my iPhone.  Most come standard: messages, contacts, notes (great for my to do and grocery lists), camera, calendar (keeps me organized by combining my iCal, Google, and Moodle calendars), photos, settings, voice memo, clock (customizable alarms ensures I don’t forget to set up the laptops three times a week for pullout class!), and calculator.

Ones I added:

Just Light (free) – as the name implies, a blank white screen used as a flash light – you never know when you’ll have a power outage and need a light.  And I have used it a time or two already.

Twitterific - Free Twitter app that I downloaded as soon as I got the iPhone. and for a free app it is pretty good.  Liked the dark screen with light text vs white screen with black text – less harsh on my eyes.

Tweetie2 – the Twitter app that I use now.  Cost $2.99 but was worth the price.  Just wish I could customize the screen & text colors.  Has more bells and whistles, but for the light Twitter user, Twitterific works just fine and is free.

Reader – Free Google Reader – mobile app takes a bit of getting used to, but love being able to quickly clean out the reader when I’m on the go.

Evernote (free) and Delicious Bookmarks (free) are new and I haven’t had a chance to explore them just yet.

Games:

FlowerzLite – free match game – just for time wasting!

reMovem – also just a free time waster game I like.

Wild Things – movie tie-in/ad for Where the Wild Things Are – totally cute.  You interact with Carol who throws things at the screen and when he gets angry he “smashes” your screen (both cause the iPhone to vibrate).  Scared the beegeebers out of me the first time my screen “cracked” and vibrated.  Again, a time waster, but cute and free.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader – $4.99 app that I purchased for our Teen Read Week program.  We used a document camera and the questions from the game for the competition.  The two teams took turns choosing a category and answering the question.  Right answers earned them a point.  Team with the most points at the end of the period won.

Action bowling isn’t really my game, but it was free.

PAC-MAN – much harder than I thought – moving the guy around the screen takes some skill!  Sol Free – gotta have a solitaire game on your phone.

Ocarina - $0.99 novelty app, but don’t know what to do with it.  It basically turns your iPhone into a flute.  Kinda cool, but another time waster.  You’re supposed to be able to upload your “masterpieces” online to share with others.  I got it just to play around with it.

This is only the first page and a half of my four pages of apps.  I wont bore anyone with the rest, but I’ll share a few at a time that I find useful as I get finished exploring them myself.

Here are the pictures of the Dracula display – “Creatures of the Night” books.

Update: I’ve gotten mixed reactions to the display. Some who think it’s “cool” and others who think he’s funny looking. I have had to re-stock the books twice though, so at least he’s doing his job!

Awhile back I wrote of using the Teen Read Week theme of “Books With Bite” for a year long reading promotion.  See  “Books With Bite” – TRW 2008.  Well, I’m finally getting started.  I’ve updated the library website to include the promotion announcement as well as a booklist page.  Its still a work in progress, but its a step in the right direction.

In addition to the website, my PARENT VOLUNTEER (yes I said parent volunteer – more about that development later) will be creating a bulletin board and book display to go along with the theme.  She’s already got lots of ideas for the promotions.  For this months, I’ve purchased a life size Dracula figure from Sam’s Club that holds a platter in one hand (which will be holding bookmarks or brochures) and has a small chalkboard sign draped from his other arm.  (Picture will follow once we’ve assembled him!)

Since September/October also contains Banned Book Week (Sept. 27 – Oct. 4) we’ll also be creating a display of “Books w/ Bite”: Edgy Titles/Banned Books.  Fran Bullington over at the Informania blog has helped me create a theme list that should cover the entire school year.  Here is what we’ve got:

August – September: Vampires and Other Creatures of the Night

October: Edgy Titles (Banned Books) and Nail Biters (thrillers, suspense, mysteries)

November-December: Tasty Treats (cooking, dining)

January: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew (finances, planning, do-it-yourself projects)

February: Bite Me (teen angst)

March: Just a Bite/Byte (short stories, poems / technology/computers to corresponding w/ Teen Tech Week)

April: Take a Bite Out of Crime – (April 13-18 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week)

May: Okay, I’ll Bite (urban myths and legends)