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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.
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.
Starwalk Kids, a digital streaming service available by subscription, launched October 10 with a curated collection emphasizing nonfiction. “We think this is the future of digital media for schools because it’s device neutral and offers simultaneous access,” says StarWalk co-founder Liz Nealon.
“When it comes to search, your favorite search engine and your favorite databases may not necessarily be the right places to launch inquiry,” writes Joyce Valenza. Recently she’s tried an overlooked feature of one of her favorite resources, LibGuides, to access the best resources via the expert hive.
These were our top stories of the week on our Twitter feed. Dewey, no surprise, heads the list. Our October cover story has generated deep discussion and the conversation continues on a Twitter chat on Thursday, October 11.
Kid lit blogs are huge with librarians, but can they reach fans beyond our world? Greg Pincus, whose blog GottaBook features poetry and perspectives on children’s literature, shared his advice on using social media to find new audiences during KidLitCon 2012 at the New York Public Library on September 29.
Rosen Digital has introduced a free, interactive ebook platform that customers can populate, à la carte, with unlimited, simultaneous access licensed, nonfiction titles for $34.95 each or $209.70 for a set of six.Sixty titles are currently available and an additional 60 will be released in January 2013. The ebooks feature colorful designs, eye-popping photographs, plenty [...]
Remember reading about the Lubuto Library Project in SLJTeen’s July 11 issue? Now congratulations are in order— the project is among 32 winners of an All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development grant, a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Vision, and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Carolyn Foote brought six iPads into her school library in a modest pilot program that evolved into a school-wide 1:1 rollout. Librarians are well-positioned to play a critical role, says Carl Hooker, director of instructional technology for Eanes ISD, “They are the conduit to the ed-tech department as well as being a ‘just in time’ trainer.”
Alyssa Sheinmel, Adele Griffin, and other young adult authors came together September 29 at the sixth annual KidLitCon in New York City to discuss social media, the obligations authors have to their fans, and the challenges of interacting with an audience.
Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have made authors and book reviewers more visible—but have they also suppressed genuine literary criticism? Several book bloggers gathered at the New York Public Library September 29 for a KidLitCon 2012 panel discussion entitled “How Nice is Too Nice?: Critical Book Reviewing in the Age of Twitter” to explore the impact of social media on the book industry.
“A school year with a presidential election is like a perfect storm for a social studies teacher,” writes Eric Langhorst, an eighth-grade history teacher in Liberty, MO, and 2007 state Teacher of the Year. Here are his picks for the best online resources to engage kids in the political process.
Ryan Woodward/©2012 Ryan Woodward Art and Amimation.
Reviews in this column first appeared in SLJ’s column 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 link to purchase information. Please note that later versions of some of these titles may now be available. Visit Touch and Go for additional reviews, commentary, and interviews with people in the field.
Bottom of the [...]
The inspiration for SLJ’s September cover may be obvious, but it was a bit of a process—an adventure, if you will—to arrive at the finished product.
After considering the lineup of feature articles, as we do each month for the print edition, the editors selected the cover story: a first-person account of a school ereader program by Travis Jonker.
An elementary school librarian, Jonker has been documenting his foray into bringing digital readers to his students in a series of posts on [...]
So, what’s the buzz on supporting online instruction?
Like many of you, several of our teachers started the new school year wanting to broaden the way they instruct their students. Here are a couple of examples of teachers who have successfully flipped their classrooms or used online techniques to give their students feedback.
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.
Librarians are masters of information. Finding it, storing it, organizing it, retrieving it—you name it. We excel at a wide range of skills. And in today’s world, that’s the name of the game. Case in point: my team and I were recently asked to choose passages of text for a regional K–8 English language-arts exam. [...]
The post We Could Be Heroes: Research plus tech skills are a hot commodity appeared first on The Digital Shift.
Wikipedia users can now create ebooks using articles from the English edition of the crowd-sourced reference. Library consultant Linda Braun shows how it’s done.
While the vast majority of parents who own an iPad use it to read ebooks with their children, moms and dads like some aspects of the digital reading experience more than others, according to a new study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.
The post On Reading with Kids on the iPad, Mixed Feelings Persist Among Parents appeared first on The Digital Shift.
