Philadelphia school children are facing an education without librarians—as well as nurses, counselors, athletic coaches, summer school, and school secretaries—because of a $304 million budget shortfall for the 2013–2014 school year.
About Lauren Barack
Lauren Barack writes about the connection between media and education, business and technology, and is the recipient of the Loeb Award for online journalism. She can be found at www.laurenbarack.com.
California 10th Graders Improve Their Writing Skills—Through an Interactive Fiction Game
By on April 3, 2013
“You hear a lot about gaming and engaging kids in STEM subjects, says teacher Jason Sellers. “So, I wondered, what does gaming look like in English?” Sellers, a teacher at the French American International School in San Francisco, found out, basing a classroom lesson in Playfic, an online community where users write, share, and play games using Inform 7, a programming system for creating interactive fiction based on natural language.
YALSA Town Hall: Building Stronger Partnerships
By on March 20, 2013 Leave a Comment
When it comes to reaching out to teen library patrons, partnerships between public and school libraries are absolutely key—but how to make them successful is an ongoing challenge, agreed those library staff and stakeholders who gathered in a virtual town hall yesterday hosted by YALSA.
Los Angeles School District Spends On Technology, Not To Restore Librarians
By on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Los Angeles Unified School District avoided additional cuts to educators and support personnel for the first time in five years, saving 208 mental health counselors, librarians, library aides and social worker positions, and is instead allocating $50 million to tablets, laptops, and other technology tools.
Elyria (OH) Schools To Lose All School Librarians
By on March 4, 2013 5 Comments
The Elyria (OH) City School District is losing all of its media specialists for the coming 2013-2014 school year, with school libraries to be run by principals, teachers, and some media techs due to budget cuts totaling $3 million.
STEM Video Game Challenge Encourages Librarians to Mentor Students
By on March 4, 2013
Students are invited to enter the annual National STEM Video Game Challenge, and organizers are hoping school librarians will help mentor and support kids throughout the process.
Give Lessons a Byte on Digital Learning Day
By on February 5, 2013
School Library Thrives After Ditching Print Collection
By on January 8, 2013
Minneapolis’ Benilde-St. Margaret’s school library remains a vital educational space where students still research, investigate and—above all—learn, even after high school principal Sue Skinner donated or re-purposed nearly all the books in its print collection in 2011.
High School Students Use Cell Phones in Class—but not for Schoolwork, Says Study
By on January 7, 2013
Just as many high school teachers are becoming comfortable with incorporating smartphones and other digital devices into classrooms to aid with learning, a new study finds that a majority of high school students are already using cell phones in class—to text, to send emails, and to browse social media sites.
Home-Schooled Florida Teen Creates ‘Jurassic’ App
By on December 27, 2012
Most kids who are obsessed with Tyrannosaurus Rex end up playing with figurines or poring over dinosaur-themed books. Not Evan Frost. Instead, the 13-year-old from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, turned his interest into an app he developed for Android phones.
Cleveland Public Library Hires Buffy Hamilton, the Unquiet Librarian
By on November 14, 2012
Buffy Hamilton, best known as the Unquiet Librarian, will soon be joining the Cleveland Public Library. Starting next year, Hamilton will become CPL’s Learning Specialist and will work to engage Cleveland’s patrons, from students to the greater public, through “library-supported communities of participatory learning.”
Common Core Will Stress Already Inadequate E-rate Funding
By on November 5, 2012
The E-Rate program, which is responsible for the funds dedicated to connecting schools and libraries to the Internet, is unable to keep up with high demand., and schools’ needs are only becoming more urgent with the advent of the Common Core Standards.
The League of Extraordinary Librarians: SLJ’s latest tech survey shows that media specialists are leading the way
By on November 4, 2012
Meet the latest tech superheroes: school librarians. According to School Library Journal’s 2012 School Technology Survey, media specialists are leading the charge to bring new media, mobile devices, social apps, and web-based technologies into our nation’s classrooms.
Mix It Up Day Draws Protests from Christian Group
By on October 25, 2012 1 Comment
A Christian group’s protests has spurred some schools to pull their involvement from next week’s Mix it Up at Lunch Day—an 11-year-old program meant to reduce prejudice among students that’s sponsored by the Teaching Tolerance project, part of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Is Amazon Whispercast Enough?: Doubts Remain on Kindle’s Adoption by Schools
By on October 23, 2012
Amazon’s newest service, Whispercast, attempts to make Kindles more tempting to librarians by letting them control multiple Kindles from a single access account. However, many librarians have doubts, and there are remaining unanswered questions.
Tweet What You Write
By on October 18, 2012 1 Comment
To expand how learners think about writing, national literacy and educational groups are asking teachers, librarians, writers, children and creators of all kinds to share what they write on Twitter on Friday, October 19, using the hashtag #whatiwrite.
Cyber Students Get Cyber Library
By on October 18, 2012
Pennsylvania’s cyber students now have a school library to call their own. Opening its virtual doors on September 4, the library serves the 10,500 K-12 children who attend the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber). Students can check out ebooks, conduct research through free databases for school assignments, and get print materials snail-mailed to their home with a click of the button.
The Imperative for Change: Pam Moran and Ira Socol lay it on the line for librarians at SLJ’s Summit
By on October 16, 2012
When it comes to libraries, educators Ira Socol and Pam Moran are very clear—it’s imperative that these institutions evolve in today’s technologically-driven world or risk fading into irrelevancy. Socol and Moran are set to deliver the “unkeynote” at School Library Journal’s Leadership Summit, October 26-27, in Philadelphia.
DC Parents Demand School Librarians Be Restored
By on October 15, 2012 1 Comment
Parents in Washington, DC, are taking to the streets, advocating for more funding for their school libraries and librarians. The Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization (CHPSPO) has spent the past seven months pushing for Washington, DC, to open its coffers to school libraries to replenish shelves, upgrade library spaces and hire more librarians for K–12 students.
New COPPA Proposals Raise Privacy Concerns
By on October 11, 2012 5 Comments
New rules proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) designed to protect minors in the digital age are leaving some concerned that its intentions could do more harm than good.
