The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
“School libraries, I believe, will be the coming focal point for ebook licensing,” write Chris Harris. “We have strong relationships with our K–12 publishing partners, but now we must reach out to the trade houses. As the print market weakens, the time is right for schools to present a new business proposal.”
From the Hunger Games, the Common Core, and maker spaces, to Gangnam Style and the ongoing ebook wars, a look at the highlights and key themes of 2012, according to Twitter.
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.
In a shift occurring nationwide, libraries are conducting “digital storytime,” using apps in kids’ programs for education, entertainment, and involving parents in the learning process. But not everyone’s sold on the use of iPads, especially with very young children.
The U. S. government has joined the list of organizations using gaming to enhance learning. This week, the Department of State released a new game to give English-language students a hands-on way to augment their mastery of English.
Melissa Techman has great ideas. So School Library Journal asked the K-5 librarian at Broadus Wood Elementary School in Albemarle County, VA, to guest curate a board of “cheap and cheerful” ideas on Pinterest.
Regardless of what curriculum areas we teach, observing and assessing our students is something that we all do every day. Thanks to mobile devices like iPads and Android tablets, recording our informal observations and formal assessments has never been easier.
A recent report conducted by MMS Education reveals that librarians use social networking more than other educators.
When it comes to measuring the authority of an online source, there’s more than Klout, according to Joyce Valenza. In her latest post on her SLJ blog NeverEndingSearch, the teacher librarian examines some tools that researchers of all ages can use to assess social influence.
How will schools pay for new CC resources, including digital? One approach is to look for existing funds within your school and district that can be redirected so that your library can purchase CC resources for the classroom. But that requires that libraries market their expertise in resource selection and collection development so that your value is obvious to others, says Christopher Harris.
You can create infographics—visual representations of data—from scratch using free web tools. Library consultant and educator Linda W. Braun takes you step by step through making your own infographic using easel.ly and info.gram.
“You’ve seen infographics, right? Those visual representations of information that seem to be popping up everywhere on the Internet?,” writes Travis Jonker. Here’s his effort using easelly.
Due to their longstanding frustration with Amazon’s failure to make Kindle ereaders accessible to people who are blind, officials from the National Federation of the Blind will be protesting outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters on December 12.
From MOOCs to open educational resources, Joyce Valenza examines the top trends of the year in technology. There are unique opportunities for librarians here and Valenza outlines specific actionables in this online version of School Library Journal’s feature story.
Though school librarians have often struggled with meeting the needs of students with disabilities, Project ENABLE is a new resource that will help them assist this underserved population.
Christopher Harris shares his thoughts on how rural districts—with an average size of 1,100 students and less than half the budget of the average New York school district—are, in effect, subsidizing the state’s large, wealthy, suburban systems, which are purchasing the same content at the same cost per building.
Two School Library Journal articles took gold and silver prizes at the 2012 annual Eddie Awards, sponsored by FOLIO: magazine and recognizing editorial excellence in magazines and websites.
Mary Lee Schneider becomes president and chief executive officer of Follett Corporation. Schneider’s appointment has important implications for the elementary and high schools that rely on Follett for their print and digital learning materials.
The Global Education Conference, held around the clock November 12–16, offered a wide range of sessions by and for educators. In particular, “Appls Galore” emphasized a variety of ways to use this technology with young students.
Web applications that make it easy to create records in appealing formats for sharing, selected by Richard Byrne, School Library Journal’s Cool Tools columnist.
