Technology news and how-to's including Google Game, blogs in schools, social networking and more from School Library Journal
Florida Offers Online Schools for Fulltime K-8 Students By SLJ Staff - 11/16/2008
Starting next fall, thousands of Florida students will be able to roll out of bed and attend school in their very own homes as a result of a new law that requires every school district in the state to set up an online school for fulltime kids in grades K-8. More
Unlock the Web with Open Source By Steve Hargadon - 12/01/2008
OK, so you’ve been watching the read/write revolution take place, but you feel that your students are destined to stay on the sidelines of history because these great Web 2.0 services are blocked at your school. Don’t despair. Open-source solutions can help bring Web interactivity to your classroom or library while still withstanding the scrutiny of your network administrators.
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Taking Care of Business By Christopher Harris - 12/01/2008
Times are tight for education funding, so any day now, someone is going to revisit the idea that schools should function more like a business. The concept is flawed in many ways—the right to a free public education for all students places schools in a very different position than businesses—but I suggest that we not entirely reject this notion.
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Sanyo PLC-XL51/3M MPro110 Projectors By Jeffrey Hastings - 12/01/2008
Two products arrived at my house for review this month. One was in a large 20-pound box, the other was a small one-pound carton. I'd expected the big box. It held a high-end, short-throw LCD projector from Sanyo. But what was in the little box? Being rather simple at heart, surprises excite me. I tore it open.
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Ohio Opens SchoolRooms By Lauren Barack - 12/01/2008
Some 2,400 public and private schools across Ohio have access to a unique new learning site. Launched by statewide library network INFOhio and library automation firm SirsiDynix, SchoolRooms provides K–12 students with a variety of resources—all via a single portal. Live since October 2008, SchoolRooms is intended as a network for educators statewide to help students discover educat...
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Big House Library By Kathy Ishizuka - 12/01/2008
One of my favorite things about Twitter is making connections—with great new people, ideas, and sites, like this one. The online portal of the Casa Grande High School library in Petaluma, CA, Big House Library was created by Anna Koval, the school’s teacher- librarian, who’s also a Twitter friend.
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The Inside Story: Find the full content of children's books on the Web By Anna Adam and Helen Mowers - 12/01/2008
Nothing beats cuddling up with a good book. But when you’re looking to get your hands on the right title or want to do something more, like share a good book with a class or access full-text volumes from a vast collection, technology can help. Whether it’s a peek inside a book that you’re after or a good chat with like-minded bibliophiles, these digital tools could be a reader...
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We’ve Got the Technology: But our today's schools ready for a radical transformation? By Marc Aronson - 12/01/2008
“We are 20th-century teachers using 19th-century methods to reach 21st-century students.” That’s what I heard a bright, committed teacher tell her fellow educators at a recent educational technology conference. That terse, powerful statement reflects what many people, including myself, have often voiced or thought.
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PreS-K–A five-year-old (rabbit) awakes one morning to discover that there will be no school, no daddy flying home today, and no going outside–until the snow stops.
Your Photos
The staff of Salinas Public Library (CA), aka The John Steinbeck Public Library, pose with Lewis Buzbee, author of Steinbeck's Ghost, a middle-grade novel that centers around the threat of the library's closing in 2004. After a difficult struggle, the library remains open and has just extended its hours to seven days a week.