September 18, 2013

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Shakespeare on the iPad

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It’s a boon year for students of Shakespeare and thespians: from Sourcebooks, Inc. and Touch Press come interactive resources that will change the way readers experience the Bard’s works. Sourcebooks has just released three titles in its “Shakesperience” series that promise to “transport readers from the page to the stage”: “Othello,” “‘Romeo and Juliet,” and “Hamlet.” Each iBook provides the text of the play along with insight from actors on their roles, audio and visuals of celebrated performances, and much more. Extensive commentary and notes, and video recordings of famed actors performing each of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, are among the highlights of the stunning “Sonnets by William Shakespeare” from Touch Press.

Touch and Go: Countdown to an Election

Washington Post Politics app screenshot

Given that this is the first U.S. presidential election since apps have made their way onto most electronic devices, you might think there would be dozens of worthwhile products available on the topic designed for students. Think again.

Sure, there are plenty of apps devoted to November’s election, there just aren’t that many that explain the process to those too young to cast a ballot. Those listed here should get the conversation rolling about how we elect a President and the men who have held that the office.

Touch and Go Lives!

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After a brief hiatus during the transition to our new website, our app reviews are back—with a few changes. First, you’ll notice they have moved from School Library Journal’s blog roll into a column, pushing out in our Extra Helping enewsletter. Archived reviews can be found on the SLJ website under “Blogs and Columns.” However, to ensure you receive all of our postings, be sure to add “Touch and Go” to your RSS feed.

Online Bookclubs are Facebook for Booklovers!

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This summer, I taught a professional development class for our staff. The goal? To each read two novels and one nonfiction book that we could enthusiastically recommend to our students this year. What we ended up with was a lot more than we’d expected, and it’s worth thinking about offering a similar class at your own school.

SLJ’s Best of Apps & Enhanced Books August 2012

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Apps involving monsters, both real and imagined, are among the digital publications examined in School Library Journal’s app review column Touch and Go.

Top Chrome Apps to Help Students Stay Productive Online

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It’s that time. Back to school and an opportunity to investigate some tools for maximizing productivity. Here are the top seven apps for Chrome as selected by Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, “Web Apps Guru” at Google.

News Bites: Nominate the Best Curriculum-based Apps

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App-ening

Best apps: The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Best Apps for Curriculum Task Force is accepting nominations for the best curriculum-based apps. From the ones nominated, the task force will compile a list of the top 25. “Apps and tablet technology add a tremendous value to educators and students, but today there are thousands of apps available with the list growing daily,” said Melissa Jacobs-Israel, task force chair. “Which apps are paramount? AASL’s newly created Best Apps for Curriculum [...]

Summertime and the Reading Is Easy: Kick back with a good ebook app or two

Summertime and the Reading Is Easy: Kick back with a good ebook app or two

Handy tools for reading and ebook discovery that you can enjoy using yourself and perhaps put them to use with students in the classroom or library.

Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: July 2012

Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: July 2012

Two exquisitely photographed resources documenting the natural world and a digital rendition of that charming creation by Herv√© Tullet are SLJ’s top apps if the month.

Librarians, School and Public, Tap the Best in Kids’ Apps | ALA Annual 2012

Librarians, School and Public, Tap the Best in Kids’ Apps | ALA Annual 2012

Talking apps at ALA: Gretchen Caserotti, Amy Graves, Travis Jonker, and John Schumacher hosted a session on using apps with kids in the context of library services, both in public libraries and schools.

Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: July 2012

Iceberg in Moonlight, South Orkney Islands (Lynch)

Iceberg in Moonlight, South Orkney Islands (Lynch)©Wayne Lynch with permission of Matchbook Digital LLC.

Reviews in this column first appeared in SLJ ’s blog Touch and Go. After each review, you’ll find the date it appeared online. Online, there are links to related resources, a trailer (if one exists), and a “purchase” button. Please note that later versions of some of these titles may now be available. Visit Touch and Go at slj.com for additional reviews, commentary, and interviews [...]

What’s on My iPad: A few key apps let you hit the road laptop free

What’s on My iPad: A few key apps let you hit the road laptop free

From Keynote to Penultimate, the must-have productivity apps SLJ columnist Christopher Harris puts to use while on the road.

YALSA’s Teen Book Finder App (love it!)

Quick, before the school year ends, share this app with your teens and maybe their parents.
Quick, before the school year ends, download this app yourself.  You’re going to want to start using the genre search to support readers’ advisory tomorrow!!!
YALSA just introduced its Teen Book Finder for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad.  (An Android [...]

Teen Book Finder App now Available in the App Store

The ‘first of its kind’ app enables users to discover titles from the lists and awards of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

ETots: a Public Library iPad Program for Preschoolers

Children’s services librarian Cindy Wall documents what she learned in presenting an iPad program for her youngest users —one and two year olds.

SLJ’s App Review: Best of Apps & Enhanced Books (May 2012)

Bats, a haiku collection, and a stunning atlas that takes full advantage of the iPad’s interactive features are the apps of the month as reviewed on SLJ’s Touch and Go blog.

Björk and NYPL Join Forces to Offer Kids Biophilia Science, Music Programs

Icelandic recording artist Björk is teaming up with the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) to offer kids an interactive educational program based on the musician’s latest album, Biophilia, and its accompanying iPad apps.

Happi Papi Helps Educators Discover Apps

A program created by a consortium of developers to distribute apps free of charge is gaining traction with educators and app shops alike.

Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: May 2012

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Reviews in this column first appeared in SLJ’s blog Touch and Go. After each review, you’ll find the date it appeared online. Online, there are links to related resources, a trailer (if one exists), and a “purchase” button. Please note that later versions of some of these titles may now be available. Visit Touch and Go at slj.com for additional reviews, commentary, and interviews with people in the field.—Daryl Grabarek