The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
Andrea Buchanan’s young adult novel Gift was the first to incorporate Minecraft. What’s that you say? The creative game, in which users build stuff out of cubes within a 3-D environment, deserves a closer look. YA librarian Erin Daly offers an expert’s view of the Minecraft element in Gift and how well the sandbox game worked as an element within a novel.
Wondering if your perceptions of teen online behavior are correct? Have boys really started texting more? Does it seem like most 13 year olds are already engaged in online social networking? Get the answers to these questions and more from this terrific Slideshare summary of “Truth, Trends, and Myths About Teen Online Behavior,” the latest teen-focused study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, sponsored by the Pew Research Center.
From a new 4-D storytelling software program to the creation of a maker space in her own library, Joyce Valenza has had a busy summer. Catch up on all the tips from a season’s worth of content at her SLJ blog NeverEndingSearch.
Christopher Harris and Kristie Miller are the latest to brave the uncharted territory that lies beyond the Dewey Decimal System. Harris recently joined the librarian in the effort to reclassify her elementary school collection. Here’s the result.
Hundreds of K-8 students in Baltimore, MD, will return this fall to 12 new school libraries equipped with Nooks, computers, and even a reading spot for mom and dad, thanks to a $5 million, four-year grant from the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation.
Education software outfit Kno has partnering with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to offer interactive textbooks for K–12 students. The digital titles, which align with Common Core subjects, are available for $9.99 or less for a one-year rental.
“I love the idea of showing my students I’m a reader out in the wild,” says John Schumacher. The school library director at Brook Forest School in Oak Brook, IL, uses various means to document his annual road trip to the delight of his students, not to mention the greater social sphere.
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.
The new space and technology upgrade comes just in time to support the McAllen Independent School District as it rolls out a new digital curriculum.
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 [...]
Sally Ride Science, the organization the famed astronaut founded to help support kids’ interest in science, math, and technology, is among the Twitter accounts said to make you smarter, the first of our links of note.
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.
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.
Want to help teachers find high-quality “complex texts,” a key ingredient of the new educational standards? Christopher Harris shows you how.
Guidelines from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) address media literacy, low-cost options for serving kids.
In a challenging economy, ISTE and ALA grapple with advocating for their school librarian, media specialist membership and then there’s the hot-button issue of digital literacy.
The best examples in the genre, for readers K-12, cited in the School Library Journal feature story “The Big Tease: Trailers are a terrific way to hook kids on books.”
A large segment of today’s youth, regardless of race or ethnic group, now actively exercise their political muscle online, says a new study from the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics.
You might want to check out Storia, says SLJ columnist Jeff Hastings. Scholastic’s slick and promising ereader platform is in soft launch, and they’re preparing to go big with it this fall.
In classrooms and media centers, Pinterest is fast becoming a powerful resource where teachers and students share images, store lesson plans, read about current events, watch video clips, and collect their favorite apps.
