From Deb Biggs Thomas, Michigan eLibrary Coordinator for the Library of Michigan, comes this announcement:

Gigi Lincoln, School Media Specialist at Lakeview HS in Battle Creek (Michigan) … has put together two excellent videos on how Lakeview uses MeLCat and on MeL Databases more generally speaking.  I am pleased to pass them on to you and we will be  putting a link to them on the Publicity page at michigan.gov/mel  .

Kudos to Gigi and her staff at Lakeview High School in both using and promoting MeL resources!

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4c475f4729d0e2b42a14  (the MeLCat introduction)

http://www.schooltube.com/default.aspx?vid=6240 (overview of MeL databases)

SchoolTube will release a full screen viewer within a few weeks so the MeL database video will be easier to see.

Even if you’re not a Michigan librarian, there is a lot to be learned from Gigi’s calm, conversational approach to these databases.  Enjoy!

“HEY, YOU GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYS!”

Oh, I am such a child of the 70’s when I tell you how much I loved The Electric Company growing up.  So hip.  And, according to this New York Times article, it will be back in January 2009.

Check out these vintage clips on the Electric Company Web site.  (I think they saved the best retro clips for the vintage DVD — where is the Volkswagen Beetle that runs on letters? The two faces in silhouette who sound out words?)

Have you seen LookyBook, which has digitized children’s picture books that you can read online or … even embed in your Web site, wiki, or blog?  You can see thumbnails of every page, then click to buy the book.

I admit that I had to be nudged several times before looking at this site, but it is awesome!

While text-heavy picture books may have words that are too small to read on the screen, I can’t wait to try this site with a data projector.

I’m struggling a little bit to get a book to get the code to embed properly here (I am fighting the urge to scream, Why won’t Chicken Sunday show up in my blog?), but how cool would it be to read a book to lower elementary kids during Storytime, then tell them they can click on your block or Web site to see it again with parents?