Let's Play Dots.

The Game: Dots: a Game About Connecting

The Platform: iPhone (iOS 5.0 or later), iPod Touch, iPad     The Price: FREE

The Goods: Sherry Gick (@LibraryFanatic) is going down. She just doesn't know it yet.

Sherry challenged me to a game of Dots earlier this week. The app game reminded her of Dot Day and rightly so... it's all about making connections. After a single round I was hooked. The brilliance is in the simplicity of Dots' design.

The interface of Dots and the game itself needs little explanation. You are given a randomly generated grid of 36 dots in 5 different colors (red, yellow, blue, green, and purple) at the start of each round. With 60 seconds on the clock, you are charged with connecting dots by any number of moves up, down, left, or right. The longer string of dots you connect, the greater number of points you earn. If you're able to connect the string of dots back onto itself (such as by making a square or rectangle), you receive a bonus and all of the dots matching the color of your dot string disappear. The more you can make this occur, the greater chance you have of achieving a high score.

The dots connected from each game accumulate and can be cashed in for some helpful bonus items which includes "Time Stops", which stops the clock for 5 seconds, "Shrinkers", which allow you to shrink a dot off the board, and "Expanders, which expand a dot and remove all dots of that color from the board. If you're in a bind, one of these could certainly help your chances.

There are no levels in Dots and it's easy to clock away several 60-second games in a single seating, especially when you're friend's high score is taunting you from the leader board. That's been enough to keep me coming back every chance I get. The dot trophies handed out for gameplay are adorable and I'm thinking of challenging my students to design their own trophies in this irresistible style.

Download the game. Connect Dots to your Twitter account. And let's start some friendly competition!

Gameplay Images:

Deceptively simple gameplay.
Excellent replayability.

This is still one of my favorite trophies and certainly
one that could inspire awesome kid-created dot trophies!

Hi, Mom.

Mother of three. Mother of me.

Today I'm devoting this space to mom. Specifically, my mom. And how her influence helped shape who I am today.

Celebrating turning 6 with a birthday party at McDonalds.
Mom doesn't miss the opportunity to influence a future librarian.

Mom, in light of recent accolades I'm reminded of the perhaps cliche act of mom shout-outs captured on film whenever a team wins the Superbowl, a young man wins an Academy award, or a child takes the stage at a spring concert. It's the "Hi, Mom!", the "I love you, Mom!", or, even, the "first off, I want to thank my mother... the most important person in my life" that come to mind.

I wonder if you know that several people at work have seen your Facebook posts, forwarding a recent news article, singing your maternal pride and love for me. They say, "I can tell she's really proud of you." I smile every time.

You taught me to be honest with others and to be kind to the people I meet. You taught me to take pride in what I accomplish and to be thankful for the gifts I'm given. You provided for me whenever you could and helped me to understand not to ask for things out of want. You and dad gave me the tools to create success, allowed me the room to make mistakes, and provided opportunities to demonstrate responsibility.

Me at 3. 

As my son, your grandson, approaches his 3rd birthday I have become reflective even more so on my role in his life and my influence on who he will become. I image you did the same countless times over as you watched me grow. So allow me to close by saying I'm sorry I caused you so much worry. There were some very late nights and some very sketchy parts of town. And, although I was always in the company of my friends, I always follow up stories of playing clubs in Baltimore with how blind teenagers must be to the danger of the situations they put themselves in. Thankfully for me, things never got too real. And those nights that you were still waiting up even though you knew where I was and who I was with and how late I'd be getting home... it still mattered to me that you waited and that you worried. The years working at my school have caused me to regularly consider the home lives of my students. I sometimes wonder if they have someone waiting up and worrying over them. Sometimes I know the answer to that question and it makes me sad.

So, thank you for worrying over me. For loving me. For helping me to love my students and care for them in a way that reflects the morals on which I was raised.
I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day.

- Matthew

Teachers Appreciation.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. I hope your taking time to feel the love.

And if you're out there, Mrs. Boyer, thanks for teaching me love and tolerance during every day in when I was in Kindergarten and most impressionable. There are still times when I pick up a banana and wonder if maybe, just maybe Mr. Bananaman is on the other end of the line waiting for my phone call to bring me a delicious treat.

And if you read this, Mrs. Senn, know that I still think about that time I took the three plastic beads when I was in Mrs. Pagano's art class and then, later, you caught me fidgeting with them in my desk. You made me walk back to Mrs. Pagano's room, hand them back, and apologize in front of her entire class. That set me on a path of honesty for life.

And though our paths might never cross again, thank you, Mrs. Walls, for the countless hours I now understand you must have expended in preparing such memorable, messy, creative projects with us. I can still picture the jungle amusement park I designed in Special Activities with you in second grade, the sprouts we grew in mason jars, and the speech I gave about the Olympics. You cared about each of us so sincerely and the investments you made in our future are abundant.

“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.”  - Robert Frost

I'm thankful to have had teachers who knew when to support and when to step back, when to be strict and when to show love, when to instruct and when to inspire. 

Thank you for your hand in who I am today.

So Long, Powerpoint.

I gave a presentation at Common Ground 2013 entitled So Long, PowerPoint. It was well-received. In it, I reviewed popular dynamic presentation tools as alternates to the frequent presentation go-to. What's more, I framed the presentation as a funeral for PowerPoint in which, as could be expected, guests offered eulogies to the once-embraced tool. Only in this case, the guests were the six alternative presentation tools. A bit meta, sure. But the overall effect was a lot of fun. While the alt tools "spoke for themselves", I explained the how-to's of each and gave insight as to why I've come to appreciate each so much over it's Microsoft predecessor. 

And now I invite all of you to attend the mass. Silence any music from your computer or device speakers. Bow your heads in a moment of reflection. And let's pay our dues to the dearly departed.

BES Graphic Novel Award (Year 2).

Dear Maryland Librarians,  (fast forward to the bottom if this isn't you )

It's time to be a part of something awesome. 

Last year I invited you to be a part of an historic committee; one that would play an important role in recognizing outstanding literature for our students and all of those who look to us as an example. The Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, our state book award, granted us the opportunity to create a Graphic Novel category for grades 4-6. Our ten nominees, which can be viewed here, will be read by students throughout the state during the 2013-2014 school year and the students will select a winner. In the meantime, we're recruiting new members for the BES GN committee and I'm hoping this personal invitation will be the motivation you need to get the application submitted by May 10th. 

Here's the application (download a copy here): 

Bes 2014 15 gn committee application from Matthew Winner

Serving on an award committee has some awesome perks:

• It's a fantastic way to stay on top of current and outstanding literature.
• The MASL community values your opinion as an expert on the graphic novel format.
• You get to present at state conferences.
• Publishers send galleys for us to review, so you often get to read books before they even come out.
• Oh... and you get to work with some really awesome people. 

I hope you'll consider applying. Remember: Applications must be submitted by May 10th.

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Non-Maryland Librarians, 

We value your feedback and suggestions! Have you read any awesome graphic novels published in the past 3 years (2011, 2012, 2013) that you think are outstanding for students in grades 4-6? If so, please share titles in the comments section below. Thanks!