“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” - Henry James

As we finish our school year here at Avonworth Resource Center, I wanted to let you know what to expect from the blog over the summer. I have planned a few "Summer Reads" posts over the summer - these will feature books that teachers, administrators and students recommended to me for fun, interesting summer reading options...just the things to fill your summer afternoons (or evenings, or mornings for that matter).

These materials may not be available through the Avonworth Resource Center, but you still have a few options for finding something to read from my lists or from any of the other summer reading lists you may stumble across in your internet travels. 

Libraries are a great place to start when tracking down a book you're excited about - it's free, easy to sign up, and you have lots of helpful librarians ready to help you find what you need or to give you suggestions about other things to try. Locally you can go to Avalon Library, Bellevue's Andrew Bayne Memorial Library, Sewickley Public Library, or you can catch the bookmobile in Ben Avon. You can also access the Carnegie Library/Allegheny County Library Association's digital collection (through OverDrive) on your device.

If you are looking to purchase a book, think about visiting Around the Bend Books in Bellevue (they also house a cafe!), Half Price books on McKnight for a great selection of used books, or the book section at Target. Any of these vendors should have what you are looking for!

For those of you looking for new Makeshop Monday and Digital Resources posts, these will be occasional but infrequent and irregular - I will just create them as I find new things to share. They will be back regularly when we get back to school in the fall!

Thanks again for reading, and have a great summer!

Weekend Reads

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein 

A fantasy novel that is the first in a series, Arclight is a thrilling fantasy novel that introduces readers to the Fade, terrifying monsters that live outside of the Light that protects those within it from the Dark. This fast-paced book is about Marina, the only person who has ever encountered the Fade and lived to tell the tale. The only problem is she has lost all recollection of who she is and how she managed to cross the wall and survive. She could be the key to humanity's survival, but she knows that the Fade will stop at nothing to reclaim her. 

Find it in Fiction under F MCQ

Arcady's Goal by  Eugene Yelchin

Arcady, a twelve-year-old boy living in Soviet Russia, soccer is more than just a game. It's his ticket to a better life. When Arcady's parents are declared enemies of the state, Arcady enters orphanage life. This tactic was one often used in Soviet Russia; destroying state enemies by destroying their families. Fortunately for Arcady, his talented soccer-playing earns him the attention of Ivan Ivanych, a kind man posing as an orphanage inspector. Impressed with Arcady's talents, Ivan adopts him and fosters his love of soccer. Although Arcady is the focus of this story, Yelchin infuses his novel with themes relating to the value of family and the importance of human rights. 

Find it in Fiction under F YEL

Andreo's Race by Pam Withers

Sixteen-year-old Andreo is a daredevil, rugged Ironman competitor who is used to competing in wild regions of the earth. Adopted from Bolivia by American parents, Andreo and his friend Raul (who was also adopted from Bolivia) begin to think that his adoption was less than legal. When Andreo and Raul travel to Bolivia for a competition, the boys decide to investigate their suspicions in order to understand where they came from and who they are. They don't realize, however, that their investigation into their own past will lead them on a dangerous and life-threatening journey.

Find it in Fiction under F WIT

Digital Resources: Google Classroom

In my first year of teaching, I joked with my students that as an English teacher I would probably be responsible for using a whole tree's worth of paper in a school year. While it was a bit of an exaggeration, I did hate to think about all of the resources printing uses. It's not just about paper - every time I wanted to change something I'd have to take the time to print a whole new set of handouts/assignments/whatevers, if students lost something or wanted to re-do something, I'd have to reprint or find someone else to run copies or watch my class, and collaboration could only happen in the classroom or when students were face-to-face. 

When our school became a Google Apps for Education school, I was most excited about the potential of Google Classroom. Although we had had the ability to digitially save and share materials through other means, the systems felt cumbersome for both the students and for me. Google Classroom is familiar and designed to look like the social media platforms kids and adults are already familiar with. 

This is the "landing page" of one of my Google Classrooms. Each assignment or announcement would have its own white box and attachments would be listed underneath, as seen above.

This is the student view of a turn-in page. Students add their materials then click
the blue "Turn In" button. It also lets teachers assign due dates and alerts
students that their submission is considered late once it's past the due date.

With Google Classroom, I would create my materials, set the sharing permission to "view only" and post it to my classroom as an assignment. When I post something from my own Drive, Classroom gives me the option to allow students to view the file, edit the file, or I can opt to make a copy for each student (which will then appear in their Drive). I found it easiest to post it as something students could view and then have the students go to the Edit menu and make their own copy. Once students had completed the assignment, they would go back to my classroom, click the title of the assignment, and turn it in for grading. I could post their grades in the same space. It made the entire process very efficient. 

This is the teacher view of an assignment page. Here teachers can
change the point value of an assignment and enter student grades.
Students are alerted when their assignment is graded and returned.

Google Classroom isn't as sophisticated as a full-blown LMS like Blackboard or Moodle, but for teachers interested in going paperless in an onground classroom or for doing some flipped instruction, it's a great (free!) option. Classrooms don't have to be limited just to formal or traditional "classes" either. I use a Classroom to communicate with my Student Council members and with the students in my mini research courses. 

Where: classroom.google.com

Cost: Free (note: this is only available to schools with Google Apps for Education suite)

What: Digital materials management, organization and distribution app

Students! Try Google Classroom if you...

Are responsible for a student organization

Need a way to distribute materials to a group

Teachers! Try Google Classroom if you...

Want to experiment with a paperless classroom

Need an easy way to share digital materials with absent students

Are sick of standing at the copier but still need to supply your students with handouts or assignments

Want to try grading assignments digitally

Makeshop Monday: Thin Man

Thin man is a small, stick-figure-esque man that comes in a variety of poses. This design was recently featured on Thingiverse and has over 20 documented prints, so your print should turn out well! One Thingiverse user (laird) described Thin Man as a "fun, easy print that's perfect for people new to 3d printing" If you have a few moments and would like to try to print something fun, try Thin Man!

The large picture features a close up of two Thin Men (Thin Mans?). The smaller pictures below allow you to preview the different Thin Men poses.

This picture features a user print of the different Thin Men. Printing something with so many documented prints means that this file will probably work for you as well.

Stop by the library Makeshop today to print Thin Man! You can find the files for this print here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:798751. Feel free to try this one on your own, or you can ask Mrs. Hickman for help!

Weekend Reads

The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure by Amy Axelrod and David Axelrod

Set in New York City in 1917, The Bullet Catch follows 14-year-old Leo as he fights to survive despite being an orphan. When Leo's orphanage burns down, he and his friends turn to a life of crime - they are very successful pickpockets, and Leo is the most talented of them all. Leo and his gang use Henry Houdini as their inspiration and their mentor. When life on the streets is no longer an option, Leo becomes an apprentice to the magician Franco Barzini. While Leo thinks that he's escaped his life of crime, he realizes that even people who seem to be on the right side of the law may be just as dangerous as the gang he left behind on the streets.

Find it in fiction under F AXE

Atlantia by Ally Condy

A new novel from the author of the Matched series, Atlantia is set at the bottom of the ocean in a walled city of the same name. Atlantia is inhabited by humans who require the protection of the walls and the oxygen that is circulated around them to survive. The story is told from the perspective of Rio, a recently orphaned daughter of the Minister of Atlantia and twin sister to Bay. Rio had dreamed of leaving Atlantia for the Above. The Above is a ruined place, with pollution and pain and a short life dedicated wholly to maintaining the Below, where people have a long life and happiness and time for leisure. Rio only decides to stay because her sister, Bay, had asked her to since this would separate the girls forever. So when Bay chooses the Above, Rio feels betrayed by her sister and trapped by her city. Rio struggles to understand her sister's decision, find her way in a city that she doesn't love and that doesn't understand her and to find answers to the mysteries that surround her city in order to save the lives of everyone who lives Below.

Find it in fiction under F CON

Vango by Timothée de Fombelle

Vango integrates lots of characters, locations across all of Europe and takes place from 1918 through 1934 (and not in chronological order). While it's not always an easy read, it is a very rewarding one. The novel begins in 1934, when Vango is just about to take his vows as a preist. When a gunshot interrupts the service, Vango finds himself a wanted man for a crime he did not commit. From there, de Fombelle takes us between locations and times to help us to get to know Vango and see how his life arrived at the point of impending preisthood and criminal suspicion. 

Find it in fiction under F DEF

Digital Resources: Thingiverse + Smithsonian X 3D

I am very new to the making movement, but I love that I can help students and teachers create the things they need for their classes or their life. The learning curve for the design software is pretty steep, though, so I wanted to find a way that students could print without having to go through the process of learning 3D design software (with the hope that once they started printing they would want to learn how to design once they "caught the bug"). 

This is the landing page for Thingiverse. They offer featured designs,
featured collections, and a free login that will allow you to
collect designs for future use.

Enter Thingiverse. If you have read my earlier Makeshop Monday blog posts, you will find posts about printing you can do and links to the files you will need to print those "things". All of these came from Thingiverse. Thingiverse is a web-based collection of files that users have designed and made available to users. Some of these "things" have been printed and some are just concepts, so it's worth checking out the details of the "thing" you would like to print to see if it's been printed and if there are any known issues found by other users. It is worth noting that this collection is not curated and much of it is untested, so be prepared for glitches. If you are already designing, Thingiverse is a way for you to share your designs with everyone - which is great if you are really proud of your work, or if you aren't sure how well your design will work and you are looking for feedback!

This is a model of Lincoln's Life Mask by Mills that is available
on Smithsonian X 3D

Smithsonian X 3D is a service provided by the Smithsonian that allows students to explore and print materials from the Smithsonian collection in 3 dimensions. The website promises to bring about "the end of 'do not touch'" by giving students ways to look at and inspect museum artifacts digitally or physically by enabling teachers to print versions of the artifacts for use in their classroom.

Thingiverse

Where: www.thingiverse.com

Cost: Free (login required to collect files for future printing or for uploading your own files)

What: (Uncurated) digital collection of 3D models/files ready for the 3D printer

Smithsonian X 3D

Where: http://3d.si.edu/

Cost: Free (login required to download printable files)

What: Web-based graphic design studio

Students! Try Thingiverse/Smithsonian X 3D if you...

Want to try 3D printing but aren't familiar with design software

Need to create visual aids for your next project

Want some inspiration or a base model to design from 

Would like to share your own designs with the world

Teachers! Try Thingiverse/Smithsonian X 3D if you...

Need models for an upcoming unit or lesson

Want to provide students with a way to explore museum artifacts more closely than they would be able to in person

Want to try 3D printing without the committment of learning how to use design software

Makeshop Monday: An Interview with Cody

Happy Monday! Today I wanted to introduce Cody Christy. Cody, a sophomore, has done a lot of 3D designing in Mr. White's class, so I asked him to share his experiences with 3D printing and design. Thanks to Cody for the interview (and Mr. White for arranging it!)

What do you make using the 3D printer?

Cody: I usually make really small things that are functional. The last thing I made was a money clip. I liked that I could customize it to fit whatever I wanted, so I made it bigger since the wallet I have that I wanted to replace was too thin. I also made a ring just to see how it turned out; I enjoyed the design part of that project more than my final product. Customizing for yourself is awesome - you can make it however you want it.

How do you DO that?

Cody: It depends on what I'm making. When I made the ring needed accurate dimensions since it needed to fit around my finger and I wanted it to be a certain width; other stuff like wall decorations you can kind of guess at what the dimensions should be since they don't really need to "fit" anything. 

What's your next project?

Cody: Maybe a bracelet, but I haven't yet decided.

Want to try something similar?

Cody: You start by getting ideas from thingiverse then modifying them so that they're customized to what you want. 

If you are interested in designing or customizing designs that can be generated using the 3D printer, see Mrs. Hickman in the library to get started!